Borderlines
by REIDFANATIC
Summary: Sequel to Doctor Without Borders Like lines in the sand, the lines between right and wrong are not always clearly defined. Spencer Reid discovers that in crossing those lines he must face the consequences, good and bad. Reid/OFC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and no copyright infringement is intended.

--

The BAU team, minus their genius, sat around the round table and gave JJ their attention. "Lincoln, Nebraska, or more specifically, the University of Nebraska, has a serial killer." She clicked the remote and the pictures of five young men came on the screen. "Brett Shelton," she indicated the young man on the top left, "Was the first victim and at the time they didn't consider his death a murder."

"Why was that, JJ," Emily asked?

"The COD was an overdose of high grade heroin. At first Lincoln PD assumed it was just that, a drug overdose. They wrote it up as death by misadventure."

"What changed their minds," Morgan inquired?

JJ sighed, "The other four deaths. Apparently, Brett Shelton was an occasional drug user but not hard core and none of the others, as far as anyone knew, were into drugs. Lab reports confirm that."

"Well," Rossi interjected, "The unsub's certainly got a type. Look at them. They could be brothers." The team all looked at the faces of the five young men on the screen. All were fresh faced handsome young men in their mid twenties with brown hair that stopped just short of their shoulders.

Garcia's voice broke the silence, "Is anybody thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah mama," Morgan said grimly, "They all look like Reid."

--

The red tail of Northwest Airlines flight 1631 ascended into the white fluffy clouds over Minneapolis and began wending its way toward its destination, Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Allie sighed heavily, "Well we're on the last leg; we'll be back in the real world before we know it. Why did the time have to go so fast?"

"Hey, look at the bright side," Reid responded, "We had six great days together. We did some fun things. I got to white water raft albeit not in the usual fashion but that's my life. We met some really nice people. It's nice that Terry and Judy want to keep in touch. We got email addresses and cell numbers for the guys so we can keep in touch with them as well. And," he raised her hand, "Don't forget this little trinket."

"Oh, I could never forget this," she looked lovingly at her ring. "I just wish we didn't have to come back so soon."

"Well, we're not back in the 'real world', "he made quotation marks with his fingers, "Just yet. To quote a Bob Seger song, we've got tonight."

--

The BAU team arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska's fifth precinct in the company of lead detective, Anita Raines. Raines was a mere 5'4" and slim although not skinny. She had auburn hair cut in a short no nonsense wedge. Her heart shaped face was dominated by friendly blue eyes. The way her clothes fit suggested her muscles were well defined and toned. She wore a sapphire blue suit that matched her eyes over a grey tank. Despite her lack of height, she wore comfortable flat black hush puppy loafers. "We've got a conference room set up for you. Let me know if there's anything you need."

The conference room was furnished with a large oval table topped in white laminate. Eight swivel chairs upholstered in blue tweed sat around the table. The team went to work setting up their bulletin board with photos of the dead men. "All the bodies were found in the science building," Emily stated.

"Well, they were all students in the faculty of science so it figures that they'd spend a lot of time there," Morgan responded.

"You wouldn't likely find drugs there though. That would be more for the dorm so perhaps it's someone who wouldn't be likely to see them in the dorm. Did they all live on campus," Rossi asked?

JJ looked at the file, "Brett Shelton, Mitch Duffy and David Felix lived on campus but Angelo Costas and Todd Gabriel didn't."

"So," Hotch stated, "It's obviously someone that's part of their university life, maybe someone on staff, who wouldn't likely see them off campus."

"They all look alike," Morgan remarked. "Something must have happened to the unsub that involved someone who looked like these men. He keeps killing that individual over and over.

"The autopsy report says they were sedated before they were given the fatal overdose." Emily scanned the document. "That tells me the unsub wanted to weaken them. We could be dealing with a woman who had to make it so they couldn't fight back. Drugging is more a woman's MO."

"Okay, there are lots of good looking dark haired guys on campus," Morgan had gotten up to look at the 8x10's on the bulletin board. "Why these five? What did they have in common?"

"According to their files," JJ informed the team, "They all transferred from other universities mid term. Their ages range from 23 to 26. They're all in the science faculty and they all joined some campus clubs. All got good grades, none below a 3.0."

"Okay," Hotch said, "Let's go over to the university and talk to some people. Something these men did made them targets. We have to find out what that is."

"Is switching universities in mid term a common occurrence," Emily asked as they headed for the door.

"I have no idea," Hotch replied.

Morgan dug the keys to one of the SUVs out of his pocket. "Reid would know."

--

They had landed a short time before and Reid was now hefting more baggage than they had left with onto a cart while shooting daggers at Allie with his eyes.

"Now honey, you know I had to get something for everybody in the family and on the team and I couldn't forget Chantal, Mark and little Reid could I?"

They exited the airport concourse for the parking lot and Reid's Ford Explorer where he began to, once again, hoist their luggage from one place to another. He'd just gotten in the vehicle and clicked his seat belt closed when his cell phone rang. He looked at the call display.

"Hi Garcia, man we just landed. We haven't even gotten home yet. I know you want all the juicy details…"

"Sorry sweet thing, that's not why I'm calling. The team is dealing with a serial killer at the University of Nebraska. They really need you there. There's a commercial flight out in three hours. I've booked you a seat."

"But we just landed," Reid argued.

"I know that sweet cheeks but it's not up to me. Anyway, your ticket will be at the United terminal. I'll email all the info to your laptop and you can familiarize yourself with the case en route. You're to meet the rest of the team at the fifth precinct in Lincoln."

Garcia heard Reid sigh heavily on the other end of the phone. "Okay Garcia, I guess we'll talk later." He ended his call and turned sad brown eyes toward Allie.

She took in his expression. "We don't have tonight, do we?"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See chapter one

--

Reid sat in his window seat and watched the city of Lincoln come into view as the plane descended into Lincoln Airport. He had read all the information Garcia had provided on the deaths of the students at the University of Nebraska. The autopsy reports concluded there were no defensive wounds or any evidence of a struggle yet each victim was strongly sedated making the likelihood that they injected themselves very remote. Reid could attest from experience that wrapping a tourniquet around your arm and finding a vein would be next to impossible with the level of sedation these men were under.

Toxicology on hair samples had revealed that only Brett Shelton had any level of drugs in his history. These levels were not high, some marijuana, ecstasy and scant levels of cocaine. No evidence of heroin. So, Reid figured that Brett probably took drugs recreationally while at a party but, for the most part, was drug free.

All the men were students in the science faculty. Shelton and Costas were chemistry majors. Gabriel was a physicist like himself. Felix majored in biology while Duffy was a geology major. They all attended their classes and kept their GPA up. What had they done to attract this unsub.

They had all transferred from other institutions of higher learning for various reasons ranging from finances to wanting to be near a dying parent. Nothing in their reasons for transferring gave Reid any clue to what triggered this unsub.

He noticed, of course, that they all looked much alike. They had all joined clubs or groups on campus but none belonged to the same one. Duffy was in the Geology Club. Shelton was in the Chess Club, Gabriel the Astronomy Club, Felix the campus book club and Costas was in bible study.

Heroin, that was significant. The unsub could have used any number of substances if just killing them was what he or she wished to achieve but the use of heroin was important to the unsub, but why Reid pondered as the plane taxied up to the gate.

--

Hotch and JJ were talking to the dean, Richard Darwin. "I really appreciate you coming. We need to find who's doing this. You'll have the full cooperation of all my staff. All our resources and information is at your disposal. If there's anything I can do, anything you need access to, just let me know."

"Thank you dean, we may take you up on that. We'll try as much as we can, to disrupt the school as little as possible," Hotch told the harried administrator.

Morgan and Prentiss were talking to some of the students in the science building. "They were all really nice guys. I can't believe this has happened to them," Zoe Louis told them. "I had some classes with Angelo and Brett. We got along really well."

"Is there anyone you can think of that they might have had a problem with, a girlfriend maybe," Emily asked.

"No, actually none of them had girlfriends although they were all cute and popular. Poor Angelo, his mom's dying of cancer so he tried to spend as much time with her as he could. He didn't have a lot of time for much else in his life. The others dated and went to parties here on campus but nothing steady since Brett broke up with Jazz."

"Jazz," Emily asked.

"Jazz Warren," Zoe explained. "They were hot for a while but then Jazz up and quit school."

"Do you know how we could get in touch with this Jazz," Morgan inquired.

"No, nobody's seen her since she left school."

Rossi was in the faculty lounge talking to some of the professors. Drs. Mardynalka and Ducharme taught in the chemistry department and knew Shelton and Costas and Dr. Richfield was from the geology department and was familiar with Duffy.

They all agreed that each of the men was a good student who attended classes most of the time, handed in assignments on time and did well on tests. None could think of any reason anyone would want to kill them.

The team met up in front of the science building to compare notes. "Okay, we'll get Garcia to look into Jazz Warren, although if she didn't have anything to do with anyone but Shelton, there's probably nothing to it," Hotch said. "Let's get back to the precinct. Reid should be arriving anytime."

--

Reid sauntered through the glass doors of the fifth precinct and gave his name to the desk sergeant. The sergeant called Detective Raines who came to the front to meet Reid. "Dr. Reid," she said, the surprise evident in her voice. "Uh, I'm Detective Raines, Anita." Reid shook the proffered hand. She said nothing more for a few moments, then, "Forgive me for staring, you aren't quite what I was expecting. When they said Dr. Reid, I wasn't expecting someone so…"

"Young," Reid finished for her.

"Uh…huh, that too," she replied. "Let me show you to the conference room, just over here," she motioned with her hand and Reid followed her directions. Detective Raines walked behind him, thinking this investigation was getting more interesting by the minute.

Reid entered the conference room and was drawn to the bulletin board with the pictures of the five dead men laid out side by side. His eyes narrowed as he looked at them closely. He paced in front of the board perusing each one carefully. Anita Raines watched him from the doorway. When he said nothing, Anita wondered if he was ignoring her or totally unaware of her presence. She then realized it was neither. The man was so intent on studying the board that all actions, sounds and people were superfluous to him.

A dry erase board sat on a tripod stand by the bulletin board. Reid picked up a marker and began to write. In one column he wrote the names of the deceased men and the time between their deaths.

(!) Shelton

(2) Duffy 2 months

(3) Gabriel 1month

(4) Felix 4 months

(5) Costas 4 months

In another column he wrote the things the deaths had in common.

Brown hair

23-26 years

transferred in

science students (is this the unsub's comfort zone?)

sedated

heroin

stressor about a year ago

Reid had just finished writing the last word when Morgan came through the door followed by the rest of the team. "Hey Reid, are we glad to see you man. How was Canada?"

"It was great Morgan, really great!"

Hotch's lips pressed together sternly. He hadn't wanted to call Reid in but he needed his input badly. He hoped Allie wasn't too upset. The demands of the job were what had caused Haley to reach her breaking point. He didn't want that to happen to this young couple. Reid caught Hotch's expression and gave the slightest nod of understanding.

JJ and Emily noticed Anita Raines standing just inside the door eyeing Reid like he was a luscious calorie free dessert. JJ shook her head, Reid would forever be oblivious to the effect he had on women. "So Reid," Emily said pointedly, "How did Allie like Canada?"

"She loved it Emily, loved it. She didn't want to come home but well, I guess we're home." Anita Raines deflated and she silently left the room fervently asking the fates once again, why all the good ones were taken.

"I see you're already at it," Rossi said noting Reid's notations on the white board.

"Yeah, I think I know what we need to do."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The usual

--

"What do you think we should do Reid," Hotch asked suspiciously?

Reid took a deep breath, then said quickly, "I think I should pretend to be a student that's just transferred in." He waited for a reply from his team.

"You want to go undercover Reid," Morgan responded incredulously. "No way man, no way you're going in there as a sitting duck for some murderer."

"Morgan, I wouldn't be a sitting duck. I'd be armed and wired. I know to be on the lookout for something which the other guys didn't." Reid pressed his point, looking at all his teammates in turn.

"Reid really, I can understand your reasoning for wanting to do it but I don't know if it's a good idea," Emily interjected.

"Okay, hear me out." Reid looked again at the team, then at the whiteboard he'd written on. "What are the characteristics common to all the murder victims? First off, age," he circled 23-26 on the board. "Well I fit that quite nicely. Secondly, their looks, longish brown hair," he pointed at his own head. "Thirdly, science students," he circled this on the board. "Who, of all of us in this room, could slip into any of those classes and look like they belonged. I could probably teach half of them. Fourthly, only students that have transferred in have been murdered. The erratic time between the killings tells us the killer has to have the right victim, one that fits all these requirements and right now no one does. So do we just sit and wait, like the killer, for another brown haired man to transfer in or do we force the unsub's hand. Remember, the people at the university haven't seen me so they wouldn't associate me with the FBI. The students might also be more likely to talk to another student than to the feds."

"No, man, no," Morgan paced the room. "It's not happening. There's no way we're letting you get in the hands of another drug wielding unsub. Case closed!"

"Well, it's not up to you to decide now, is it," Reid answered Morgan but he looked at Hotch. Two pairs of dark eyes burned with determination as they attempted to stare each other down. One pair said he would be damned if he'd allow this youngest team member to ever be hurt again like he had been in Georgia. The other pair said he would prove himself to be more than just a walking encyclopedia, he would prove himself to be a valuable field agent. The room was silent and time, it seemed, stood still.

"Reid," Hotch began, "It could end up being quite dangerous, especially after Georgia."

"Look," Reid replied, "No one knows better than I, the toll that Georgia took on all of us, especially me. But are we ever going to just get past it. Morgan told me to use what happened in Georgia to make me a better profiler, but how can I do that if my superiors are always wondering if I'll get hurt. You wouldn't think twice about sending Morgan in there. I deserve as much respect. I think I've earned it."

Silence reigned again in the conference room while Rossi, JJ, Morgan and Prentiss passed looks between one another, Reid and Hotch each continued to stare at the other, each vowing to himself that he would not be the first to blink. Hotch's logical mind told him everything Reid had said was true but his heart screamed that it had no need of truth and logic. He only wanted to keep this exceptional young man safe but Reid needed his vote of confidence and respect. He was right, he'd earned it. Hotch heard his voice saying, "Alright, we'll get you in as a student." Reid nodded in triumph while Hotch hoped he hadn't made the biggest mistake of his life.

"Oh, Hotch, you can't be serious," Morgan argued.

"I've made my decision Morgan; let's get in touch with Garcia and then Dean Darwin. They can get a cover for Reid and a personality made up. Let's get him in classes that the dead men were in. He turned to Reid and, in true attorney fashion, knew the answer before he asked the question, "You're sure about this?"

"Totally, I won't let you down Hotch," he said as he turned to the conference table to retrieve his laptop and call Garcia.

"Reid," Hotch said and the young man turned back, "You never have."

Reid called Garcia and told her he needed to build a cover personality as he was going undercover as a transferring university student. "Baby boy, did you say what I thought you did?" Her voice began to shrill, "You're going undercover as bait for a serial killer?"

"Garcia, you make it sound worse than it is." Reid tried to reassure his friend.

"Am I wrong; whose crazy idea was this?" Reid held his cell away from his ear.

"Mine, Garcia, it was my idea," Reid replied quietly.

"Have you got a death wish or something," she yelled at her friend.

"No, of course I don't, especially now. I won't be like the others. I'll be wearing a wire. I'll have my glock."

"You had your glock in Georgia," Garcia reminded him.

"Could everybody just forget about Georgia for five minutes," Reid screamed into the phone causing the others in the room to turn and look at him. "Sorry Garcia," he said immediately.

"Okay okay, sweet cheeks, settle down. We'll get to work on your cover." She was about to start getting the information she needed when she stopped. "What did you mean especially now," she asked suspiciously?

"What," Reid asked, confused.

"You said you didn't have a death wish and then you added especially now. What did you mean by that?"

"Oh that, uh…uh…especially now that Hotch has given me this assignment." Now was definitely not the time to mention his engagement, he thought. Knowing Garcia, she would call Allie when she heard the news and might let something slip to his fiancé and, like he'd said, he didn't have a death wish.

Reid and Garcia worked for a long while on his cover. Garcia would insert him seamlessly into the computer network of the University of Nebraska. She added him to the roster of a number of the classes that the dead men had taken. The textbooks would be delivered to the precinct. Reid got off the phone with Garcia and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a while."

"Where are you going," JJ asked.

"Shopping," he indicated his clothes, "College students don't dress like this." He turned and left the room.

"College students," Morgan exclaimed as he pointed his thumb in the direction Reid had just gone, "Nobody dresses like that!"

Hotch phoned the dean and alerted him to their plans. Since the team wasn't sure if it was a staff member or a student, the dean was asked to keep Reid's identity to himself. The dean promised to do just that and again thanked Hotch for attempting to rid the university of this killer.

Morgan was just getting off the phone with Garcia a while later when the conference room door opened and Reid entered dressed in faded jeans, a blue and white striped polo shirt and a pair of white cross trainers. He carried some shopping bags. "Hi guys," he said as he entered, "Meet Graham Gideon!"

"Well, we know what happened to Jazz." Morgn began. "Garcia found a death certificate. Jasmine Warren died a little over fourteen months ago of a massive heroin overdose. Autopsy reports showed she was a severe addict. It was only a matter of time. Toxicology reports showed she was into everything from marijuana, cocaine, heroin to crystal meth. I guess we know why she suddenly quit school."

"Maybe her death was the stressor, but whose stressor," Rossi asked.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: As usual

--

"Oh, I cannot believe this!" Morgan was taking his turn at the headphones listening to Reid's wire. He did not look happy about it.

"What's the matter Morgan," JJ asked.

"I've had to listen to two professors give boring lectures on quantum physics and advanced theories in calculus that make absolutely no sense and now I have to listen to the pretty little coeds come on to Reid. It's the sixth time he's been hit on today and it's only two o'clock."

"Aw, poor baby, you sound jealous," Emily interjected.

"You should have seen him that night we were walking the streets in Kansas City," Hotch recalled with a rare grin. "He got propositioned by every hooker we talked to."

"So, how's he doing, aside from being a big hit with coeds and," Rossi smirked, "Prostitutes?"

"He's doing well," Emily, who'd had most of the morning shift on the headphones, informed them. "He's trying to be high profile without wearing a blinking sign. He's asking a lot of questions in class. He was right, by the way, he slipped into those classes without so much as a hiccup. He's asked directions about five times and he managed to spill his lunch tray in the full cafeteria so, oh yeah, everybody knows there's a new kid in town."

"Did he spill the lunch tray on purpose," Morgan giggled, "We all know Reid's not the most coordinated guy in the world?"

"Does it matter," Rossi remarked, "As long as he drew attention to himself?"

--

He was back again. There he was, talking to another girl. Just like before, why couldn't he stay dead. He'd been in class this morning and asked some very intelligent questions. He apparently came from Ohio State this time, something about family issues. What would a guy like him understand about family. No, guys like him only understood one thing. Oh well, he'd have to be taken care of. It was getting tiresome. Why couldn't he just stay dead?

--

Reid walked down the deserted hallway of the science building. He checked to make sure there was no one around, then ducked into the utility room. "Well if it isn't Romeo himself," Morgan said as Reid closed the door. The usual items stored in the room had been removed and replaced with a table and six chairs making the quarters very cramped. JJ was sitting in front of the tape recorder. Once she saw Reid, she removed the headphones and laid them down.

"Very funny Morgan," Reid replied in a tone that said it wasn't that funny at all.

"Oh come on man, we heard those perky little coeds coming on to you in a big way, wanting to get in your pants."

"Morgan," Reid squeaked, "One of those perky little coeds, as you put it, could be our unsub."

"Quite true, my man, quite true but, if one of them is, then the other five…" He raised his eyebrows at Reid and gave him the thumbs up.

"Why would I care about that when I'm en...tirely happy with Allie?" Reid sat on one of the chairs and lifted the pant leg of his jeans exposing a blue and white striped sock and an ankle holster that held his glock. "I don't know how you guys can wear this all the time," he looked at Hotch and Morgan. "It feels like my leg weighs a ton." He removed the holster and massaged the leg. Today with his jeans he wore a grey tee shirt topped with a navy blue shirt, untucked and left open, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Here's a list of all the people who've approached me today. I don't know if Garcia will be able to get anything from it." He reattached his holster and replaced the glock, stood and headed for the door.

"Where are you going now," Hotch asked?

"I'm going to the library for a while and then the Chess Club meets in two hours. Brett Shelton was in that club so I thought I'd put in an appearance."

--

Reid sat alone at a large table in the science building library reading his physics text book. He was supposed to read chapter seven but he'd just about completed the entire book. It was old hat to him anyway. The work he'd done for his thesis was ten times harder than this. A slight smirk crossed his face wondering how the professor and the other students would react it they found out the new guy actually had a doctorate in the subject. Aargh! He had the urge to scratch his chest ferociously, the wire was very itchy. He thought he shouldn't complain however since this whole thing had been his idea in the first place.

"Hi," said a soft voice beside him. Reid looked up to see a pretty girl with long blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders. She wore a soft pink pullover with a pair of white jeans.

"Hi," Reid said standing.

"You're new here right, I saw you this morning in physics class. My name's Mandy Warren."

"Graham Gideon," Reid replied.

"I see you're doing the reading as well." Mandy noted, "Not that I can remember any of what I read, it's like the words go in but I sure don't retain any of it. Do you have that problem too?"

"Uh, no not usually," Reid replied.

"Okay, uh…you uh, looked like you really understood this stuff when you were asking Professor Kline questions this morning. I don't suppose you'd consider helping me?"

"Sure, I'll help you if I can." Reid told the girl.

"Do you mind if we go somewhere else. The battleaxe, Mrs. Forbes, will get totally pissed because we're talking." Mandy stated as she turned for the door.

Reid collected up his textbook and binder and quickly followed, "No, that's fine with me."

--

"Mandy Warren, have you got that baby girl." Morgan spoke into his cell. "We need those pretty little fingers of yours to work their magic and tell us everything you can about her. She's with Reid now and they've gone off together."

"She better keep her hands to herself. Nothing better happen to my sweet boy or she answers to me. I'll get back to you, Garcia out."

--

"I know a really nice place to go," Mandy said as Reid followed. "Hi Sherry," Reid recognized another girl from his physics class.

Sherry stopped and sneered at Mandy in irritation. "What, you couldn't leave the new guy alone for five minutes," she said loudly, causing some other students and a group of professors to look at them. Well, Reid considered, he'd wanted to get attention and he guessed he was getting it.

"Sherry, he's just helping me with physics, isn't that right Graham?"

"Yeah," Reid concurred, holding up the textbook he'd been carrying under his arm, "Physics."

"Yeah, right," Sherry shook her head and carried on although the students and professors were still watching them.

"Sherry thinks I'm some kind of tease and always after guys. Come on let's go," she said as the pair proceeded down the hallway.

--

Morgan answered his cell. "Talk to me baby girl."

"Okay hot stuff, this might be pretty important. You remember Jasmine Warren, better known as Jazz, Brett Shelton's old girlfriend who died of a massive heroin overdose. Well, Mandy Warren is her little sister!"


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies

--

Reid accompanied Mandy out a side door into a little courtyard covered with decorative paving stone. A small fountain was the centerpiece with four large stone planters occupying each corner, two containing green plants while the other two contained flowers, purple petunias in the middle bordered with bright marigolds. Two wrought iron benches sat at either end between the planters while a picnic table sat on each of the other two sides around the fountain. "It's such a lovely place," Mandy said, "Yet hardly anyone ever comes here. We won't be bothered here." She put her books down on the picnic table and sat down, patted the seat beside her and smiled, "Come on Graham."

Reid hadn't seen any drug paraphernalia but it wouldn't be out in the open now would it, he chided himself. He eyed her purse. She could have something in there. But, he told himself, the others were all sedated and she had nothing to sedate him with. Sheesh Spencer, he said to himself, maybe she just wants help with physics. She spread out her books and communicated the trouble she was having. Reid nodded and began to explain the concepts and principles as well as giving her some concrete examples.

"Oh my God, it doesn't sound nearly as hard when you explain it. You're really good at this," Mandy told Reid. She suddenly stood up. "Stay there, I'm going to get us coffee." She disappeared back into the building.

--

"Okay mama, what have you got for us?" Morgan spoke into the phone as he held it up for the others to hear.

"Amanda Lynne Warren, daughter of Edward and Stephanie Warren. There is really nothing that stands out in her schooling. No record of any kind. Some payments from an HMO to a psychologist about thirteen months ago just shortly after her sister's death. She's a sophomore at the University of Nebraska in the science faculty like her sister. Her major is as yet, undeclared. If I get any more I'll let you know." The call ended and Morgan closed his cell and returned it to his pocket.

"I think these murders revolve around the sister's death," Rossi began. "She sees Brett as the cause, probably because he introduced her sister to drugs with his recreational use at parties."

"Only for Jasmine," Emily interjected, "It went beyond recreational. Brett's murder was revenge for her sister.

"She's having psychotic episodes," Hotch added, "And every time a new student transfers that fits Brett's description, in her mind, she sees him as Brett and has to kill him again."

JJ took the headphones off, "She's with Reid now and she just left to get coffee."

"We gotta get over there," Morgan said heading for the door only to be stopped by Hotch.

"No, let's let Reid handle it. He knows the signal if he needs us," Hotch ordered.

"Hotch, you can't be serious," Morgan argued.

"Morgan, if we go in there too soon and there's nothing, then we've blown Reid's cover. He's doing a good job. Let's let him do it. We'll keep listening and if things seem to be going south we'll move in," Hotch explained.

"Hotch, you do know," Morgan continued, "That if Reid gets any of that stuff in his system, it could be disastrous."

--

"Here we go," Mandy said, setting two steaming cups of coffee on the table. She reached into the pocket of her jeans. "I didn't know how you take it so I brought some creamers and sugar." She set the items down on the table.

"Thanks," Reid said, adding some sugar and stirring it with the stir stick provided.

"So, what made you transfer here from, where was it, Ohio," Mandy asked?

"My grandmother died recently, leaving my grandfather alone. He's rather infirm so I transferred here to stay with him, free room and board and when the old guy kicks it, I get his house. That's a pretty good start in life when you get a house that's already paid for, so it was worth the move. Granddad's not really too much of a problem."

"I don't believe that for one minute," Mandy accused.

--

"Do you think I don't know that Morgan." Hotch treated his fellow agent with his stoniest glare. "I know the consequences and so does Reid, he's thought them out. And you know in your heart he's right."

"But Hotch, he could get hurt bad. He could end up in serious trouble," Morgan countered.

"Any of us could get hurt any day Morgan, we're all aware of that and we've all decided, Reid included, that to catch these killers that's a risk we're willing to take. We can't let what happened in Georgia forever hang over his head. He needs to move on. We need to let him move on."

"Hotch is right Morgan," Rossi added.

Morgan turned on the older man. "How would you know Dave, you weren't even in Georgia. You didn't see what Hankel did to him and what he went through afterwards. Reid went through hell."

"I do know that Morgan," Rossi snapped back. "Hotch has told me and I read the case file. I even watched the footage so I know the torture Reid was subjected to and the aftereffects. But I can see with my own eyes that he has faced those problems and dealt with them. He's trying to do what you yourself suggested, using it to make himself better. You have to stand back and let him do that."

Morgan seethed. "If anything happens to him while we're standing around here debating…"

--

"What do you mean, you don't believe me? You think I'm lying," Reid asked?

Mandy smiled, "No, not lying, just exaggerating. You didn't come here just so you could get your grandfather's house. You came here to help your grandfather, the other is a benefit but it's not that important to you. You would have come anyway."

"Wow, are you some kind of psychic or something?"

Mandy shook her head, laughing. "No, my grandma, who I'm really close to, always told me to look at people's eyes to get the truth. You have beautiful eyes. They're kind eyes. Not the least bit greedy or mercenary. I think you just said that to be cool. You helped me with my physics and you didn't even try to get close to me or ask for my number so that tells me you're not just out for what you can get unless, you're not gay are you?"

It was Reid's turn to laugh, "No I'm not gay and you're a very nice person but there's somebody back in uh Ohio."

"You're faithful too, wow." She took a sip of her coffee. "You're not drinking your coffee."

"Oh, I'd forgotten about it," Reid said. He picked up the cup and brought it to his lips.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies

Reid slowly lifted the cup to his lips. "Oh there you are," came a female voice from the doorway. She exited the building with a lithe grace, coming out into the courtyard. "I've been looking all over for you." She was tall and thin with her hair cut in a shag that had been dyed bright red and spiked all over her head. She wore black cargo pants topped with a black skin tight sweater that emphasized her thinness. Her feet were clad in black shoes making her appear even taller. Her pale complexion was only intensified by the light pink eye shadow, lipstick and nail polish she wore contrasting with her bright hair and dark clothing. Her eyes were an intense violet and her ready smile displayed a set of perfect white teeth. "Hi Char," Mandy said to the girl as Reid put his coffee on the table. "Graham, this is my friend Charlene Mason, Char, this is Graham Gideon. He just transferred here from Ohio." The two friends made a striking pair, tall Charlene with her bright hair and dark clothing and the shorter Mandy with her blond hair in pastel pink and white.

"Hi," she waved slightly, "Yeah, I heard. I uh saw you in the cafeteria, real smooth." She made a gliding motion with her hand.

Reid, who had stood, looked down, "Not one of my finer moments, I'm afraid. It's nice to meet you."

Charlene made a dismissive motion with her hand. "Happens to everybody. What are you doing out here," she turned to her friend?

"Graham's been helping with my physics. He even understands most of the crap Kline is talking about but he explains it a whole lot better," Mandy told her friend.

"It doesn't hurt that he's freakin' gorgeous," Charlene whispered in Mandy's ear.

"No," Mandy replied quietly, elbowing her friend in the stomach. She turned to Reid. "I guess it's time for me to go. Thank you so much for the help. I really really appreciate it. If there's anything you need, you know being new here and all," she wrote something on a page of her notebook, ripped it off and handed it to him. "I'll see you in class then, bye." She gathered her books and took off with her friend who told him it was nice to meet him. Reid glanced down at the paper in his hand, the phone number written there, now forever in his memory bank.

Well that's great, thought Reid. He'd felt he was on to something. He plopped down on the seat of the picnic table, "Shit," he said.

"Wo Reid," said Morgan who now wore the headphones, "I didn't know you had it in you," he mumbled.

"What's that Morgan," Hotch asked.

"Oh, nothing, just talking to myself."

Alone in the courtyard, Reid absently did what he'd been longing to do all day, scratched his chest that was itching terribly due to the wire. "Jesus Reid," Morgan yelled swiping the headphones off his head at the loud static Reid's scratches produced. Reid eyed the coffee in his cup. He could take it to the team, he supposed and they could have it analyzed. If there was a sedative in it then Mandy would be a very strong suspect he thought sadly. He had liked the girl.

The door to the science building flung open and a woman came rushing out. Reid recognized her as the professor of the Analytical Chemistry class he had attended that morning, Dr. Mardynalka. "Oh hi," she said, pulling a hand out of the pocket of her navy slacks and shoving a cigarette in her mouth and lighting it with a lighter she'd also had in her pocket. "Used to be able to do this in my office but no more." Reid nodded his understanding as she puffed on the cigarette. "Can't do it at home, my husband's had a heart attack and the second hand smoke's bad for him." She approached the picnic table. "You're the new guy in my Analytical class. You asked some very interesting questions. Where you from again, Ohio? I remember getting the papers just yesterday?" She flicked the ash off her cigarette into the empty coffee cup that had been Mandy's.

"Yeah," Reid nodded.

"What made you come all the way out here, Ohio State's a good school?" She flicked another ash.

"My grandfather needed someone to help him so he doesn't have to go into a home. It was easier for me to switch schools than for anyone else in the family to uproot their lives," Reid bent forward and looked down at his hands that were clasped in front of him, his forearms resting on his thighs, while he repeated the cover story he had memorized. He looked up at Dr. Mardynalka, "It was nice talking to you but I should get going," he said as he picked up his books.

"No, I don't think so," the professor said. She had reached behind her and pulled out a gun that had been hidden by the jacket of her pant suit. Reid turned to see the handgun pointed right at him. "You're not going anywhere."

--

Emily had picked up the headphones that Morgan had dropped and put them on. She listened for a few moments and then said, "Hey guys, I can't hear him."

"Maybe he's not saying anything," Morgan said glibly. "He was loud and clear before."

"No," Emily said the concern rising in her voice. "He is saying something but it's all garbled. Something's wrong."

--

A gun, he hadn't considered that. Maybe that's how she got them to where she killed them, by pointing a gun at them. "This is Georgia all over again," he said giving the team the signal phrase. Now he would have to keep her talking until they got there.

--

Hotch grabbed the headphones from Emily and put them on and listened carefully. He could hear a voice and was trying to make out what it said. "Th…s…G…ja…ve…ai."

"Alright," Hotch yelled, "Let's get over there. We'll go in slow and if we can see that he's alright, we'll back off so we don't blow his cover. I don't like that he's out of contact." The team left the basement utility room to make their way to the main floor of the science building.

--

"D…Dr. Mardynalka, why are you pointing a gun at me? We don't even know each other." Reid tried to talk to the professor.

"Shut up and drink your coffee, I put a little something in there while you were looking down, now drink," she motioned with the gun. Reid once again raised the cup to his lips.

"Dr. Mardynalka, why are you doing this?"

"Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? You don't need to know that. Drink some more coffee." Reid again reached for the cup. If he could only distract her so he could get to his glock.

--

The BAU team was running down the main floor, stopping people asking if they'd seen the new guy. JJ stopped one girl, who told her her name was Sherry, and asked if she had seen the new guy. The young woman looked surprised that the FBI was looking for the new guy. She told them she'd seen him go into the courtyard with miss priss.

"Mandy Warren, why do you call her that," Emily asked?

"Because," Sherry said, "You can apparently do anything if you have a parent on the faculty. Jazz got away with so much. Everyone knew she was this crazy junkie but oh well, parent works here, so everything is okay!"

"I never saw a Professor Warren on the faculty list." Hotch said.

"Well no, you wouldn't. It's not her dad that works here it's her mom and she goes by her maiden name at the university, Professor Mardynalka."

"I talked to her yesterday Hotch," Rossi said, "I never would have suspected anything."

"Where's the courtyard," Hotch asked the student.

--

"Is it because of Jazz," Reid asked.

"What do you know about my daughter," the woman asked suspiciously.

Ah, so Jasmine Warren was her daughter. "I heard that she died," Reid said softly, "I'm sorry about that. I heard she was involved with drugs. That can be very difficult."

She looked at Reid like she was looking at a strange alien life form. "Involved with drugs, is that what you heard? Let me tell you, she was more than involved. It became her whole life. It became what she lived for. The next fix. Do you have any idea what that's like, living for the next fix?"

"Y…yes, I do," Reid admitted.

Dr. Mardynalka dismissed his words. "Do you know what it's like to watch someone you love change right in front of you, to become someone you don't know?"

Reid thought of how he'd watched his mother change. It wasn't drugs but the feeling must be the same. He remembered how he'd felt himself becoming someone he didn't like very much. "Yes, I do know."

"We tried everything you know. We loved Jazz so much. We tried tough love, interventions, rehab, support groups but nothing worked. She always went back to the drugs. She left school and couldn't work and when we wouldn't let her mooch off us anymore for her drugs, she ended up on the street. Do you know how it feels knowing your baby is on the street, but we had to think of Mandy too." Tears started to fall down the doctor's face. "Then she started to steal from us and caused her father to have a heart attack. He almost died. She stole some heirlooms from her grandmother and sold them. The last straw came when she tried to cook crystal meth in her grandmother's house. She almost killed my mother." She looked at Reid, noticing he'd gotten quiet and was starting to rub his eyes. The sedative must be working. "The last time I saw her she told me she could never stop and she just prayed for it to be over. So I bought some heroin and I loaded the syringe and I injected it into my baby. I had to put her out of her misery. Do you know what it's like to have to kill your own baby? No, I can see you don't know this time." She reached in her pocket of her suit jacket and pulled out a syringe loaded with a cloudy fluid.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

"Dr. Mardynalka, you really don't have to do this," Reid said sluggishly.

"Yes…I…do. You're all the same. Look what you did to Jazz, got her hooked on drugs. And now you want to do the same to my Mandy. I saw you with her." She approached Reid, pointing both the gun and the needle at him.

"No," Reid said, his eyes blinking heavily. Suddenly his head drooped down and his breathing became slow and deep. The professor pulled his head up by his hair but there was no response. She smiled. She put the gun in her pocket and pulled out an elastic tourniquet, sliding it under Reid's right arm and wrapping it around tightly. She watched as the veins in the crook of his arm popped up. She smiled again. This one was going to be easy. She maneuvered the syringe to inject him when Reid moved, his left fist connecting with her chin and upper cutting to her nose. Blood spurted over his hand. Mardynalka stumbled backwards, stunned by the blow. Reid reached down to his pant leg and drew his glock. He quickly released the tourniquet as he pointed his weapon at the woman.

The professor looked confused. Blood flowed from her nose, down her lips and onto her chin. "You didn't think I actually drank it, did you? FBI, get down on the ground." She raised her hands, the needle held in her fist like a knife she was ready to drive home. "Drop the needle and get down on the ground," Reid said but the woman still held fast to the syringe. "Drop it," Reid said again. He could see the crazed look in her eyes. He could see her debating with herself whether to drop it or to charge and try to sink the deadly concoction into him. "Come near me with that syringe and I will shoot you dead. Is that how you want to be remembered by Mandy and your husband? Haven't they been through enough?"

Reid saw the woman's eyes soften at the mention of her family. "They…They," she said, tears meandering down her cheeks to eventually mix with the blood.

Reid kept his weapon steady. "I know what it felt like for her, Jazz, how a drug can get hold of you. It's hard to find the strength to fight. I found it, Jazz didn't. It wasn't anything you did. There's no rhyme or reason."

"You don't know," she yelled with disdain.

"I do know, I do. Mandy told me her grandmother, your mother, told her to find the truth, to look in the eyes. Look in my eyes."

Stephanie Mardynalka looked, as her daughter had done, into the depths of a pair of soulful brown eyes and knew the truth. Her own eyes closed and the meandering stream of tears became a flood. She unclenched her fist, releasing the syringe, which tumbled to the cement. The woman opened her eyes, fell to her knees and lay on the cold paving stones. Reid reached in his pocket, pulling out a handkerchief and picked up the discarded needle. He stared for a moment at the syringe in his hand remembering moments when it was all he wanted. His instinct was to push the plunger and dispense of the vile liquid but he knew he couldn't do that. This was evidence. His training kicked in, restrain the suspect, and preserve the evidence. He was removing Mardynalka's gun from her pocket when the door to the building swung open. Reid looked up. His team had arrived.

Hotch flung the door of the courtyard open to find Reid with his glock trained on a middle aged blonde lying face down on the paving bricks. He was leaning over her and removing a firearm from the pocket of her navy suit jacket. He tossed it to the ground and the weapon, a .22 caliber Hotch judged, clattered as it hit the hard surface, gliding across it to come to rest next to one of the planters. A handkerchief with a syringe nestled in it had also been set aside. The woman, her hands above her head, was visibly sobbing and the tears mingled with blood that still trickled from her nose and was staining the decorative pavement a sanguine red.

"You okay Reid," Hotch said entering the courtyard, his weapon drawn.

Reid nodded, "Yeah, what took you so long?"

"Well man," Morgan, who had entered with the others behind Hotch, responded. "We couldn't hear you. We lost contact after Mandy left. There was a bunch of static and then everything was garbled. A connection must have come loose." Morgan reached into the back of his jeans, pulled out his cuffs, handing them to Reid who brought the woman's arms down behind her back, cuffing her hands.

"We came as soon as we lost contact," Emily said. "We had to find out where you were."

"Oh, I see, so you never heard our conversation and me giving the signal," Reid confirmed, nodding his head. Reid and Morgan pulled Mardynalka to her feet. She wobbled and would have fallen had both men not held her.

A crowd of onlookers had started to appear and campus security along with members of the Lincoln PD had been dispatched to control them. Mardynalka was handed over to Lincoln police officers and CSI techs began to arrive to photograph and collect evidence.

"What happened here," Rossi asked Reid.

Reid hesitated for a moment, then stated, "It was like we thought, Jazz's overdose was the stressor that triggered Mardynalka to start killing men she saw as being Brett Shelton. When she found out I was with Mandy, she was convinced a second daughter was going to be turned toward drugs. "That coffee," Reid pointed to the cup on the picnic table, "Has a sedative in it. I pretended to drink it and fall asleep. She wrapped a tourniquet around my arm and was about to inject me when I punched her and went for my weapon. Then I just waited for you guys. I'd given the signal and I didn't realize you hadn't heard.

"Good work Reid," Hotch said.

"Uh oh," JJ said, looking towards the door where the crowd of onlookers had started to make a fuss about something. "I think this is the daughter."

Reid looked over at the door, "Yeah, that's Mandy." He thought the girl looked distraught, probably having heard that her mother had been arrested but not believing it.

"I'll go talk to her," JJ said but Reid put a hand on her arm.

"No, let me, I should do it. I'm the one who lied to her. I have to be the one to explain." He walked toward the girl who looked at him with her eyes full of questions.

"G…Graham," she said tentatively. She looked up at Reid, her face so trusting and Reid's heart broke over what he had to tell her especially the part he'd played in it.

"I need to talk to you," Reid said, leading Mandy over to a seat in front of the building's floor to ceiling windows. The team watched as Reid spoke to the young woman. They saw the confusion that crossed her face. Reid reached into the back pocket of his jeans, removing his FBI credentials and showing them to her. She took the ID in her hands and stared at it, then back at Reid. Reid continued to talk. Mandy's eyes became huge. She shook her head, her hand going to her mouth.

She stood up and backed away from him and the team could hear her saying, "No…no." Reid rose and approached her and she screamed, "No, get away from me. You're nothing but a liar." The team could see Reid shaking his head, insisting that he was not lying. "You are so," she screamed. "It's not true." She slammed her clenched fist into his chest. "My mother wouldn't…she…she…" She slammed him again with the other fist. She did this a few more times until Morgan was about to step in when she stopped and put her hands to her face and began to weep. Reid stood by awkwardly. He'd always felt uncomfortable around a woman's tears, be it Allie's tears of joy or this woman's tears of utter despair. Hotch motioned for JJ and she stepped forward and put an arm around Mandy, leading her back to the window seat while Reid hung his head.

"Reid, are you alright," Hotch asked?

"Yeah, I'm okay Hotch. I know I did the right thing but just because it's right, doesn't make it easy. Look, I just need a few minutes, okay."

"Reid," Morgan asked, "Are you sure you're all right man?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I just need to make a phone call. I'll be back shortly." He walked away from the team, heading downstairs to the utility room they had used as a headquarters.

"He probably wants to call Allie," Emily suggested. "He'll feel better after he's talked to her."

Reid pulled out his cell and pressed speed dial. The phone rang three times before it was answered. "Hello."

"Hi J..John, it's Spencer, can we talk…"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Reid looked out the window as the jet cut its way eastward through the clouds. He sat alone at the front of the plane half expecting Hotch to come and talk to him. He was aware that his teammates were concerned that he had been uncharacteristically quiet since closing the case in Lincoln, although no one had commented on it. He knew the team suspected that he was upset that he had found it necessary to mislead Mandy and, in a way, they were right but, he told himself, that's what undercover was wasn't it? Although he didn't know it at the time lying to Mandy had allowed him to capture her mother, and save other lives. He didn't feel badly about that aspect of going undercover. What bothered him most, however, was lying to his team, though they had no way of knowing and never would. He was sure that Stephanie Mardynalka would never tell another living soul that she had killed her own daughter. She had only told him because, in her deluded mind, he was at fault and she thought he would soon be dead. Once he had realized the team hadn't heard Stephanie's confession, he vowed no one ever would. There was no need for Mandy, her father and her grandmother to live with that knowledge. Sometimes ignorance was bliss.

Reid had felt for Stephanie Mardynalka, he really had. She was a woman who loved her family and she didn't want to see any of them in pain. She had tried the usual and accepted means with Jazz but unsuccessfully and Jazz continued to spiral downward hurting herself and those Stephanie loved. The woman had felt the need to act and she had done so, just as he had done when his mother's condition had become more than he alone could handle, albeit in a less tragic fashion. Even though logically he knew that he had made the right decision, internally he still struggled with what he had done to his mother, hence, he understood Stephanie's struggle. Stephanie's mind could not reconcile itself to what she had done and, to protect her, her mind had put the blame on others and sought vengeance.

Although Reid felt uneasy, he was also, he had to acknowledge to himself, a little mystified regarding the team's misconceptions about him. They figured he was troubled because the case, as well as being drug related, had required him to be deceptive, which went against their experience with him. _Good little Spencer never lied, so this must be so hard for him. _If they only knew, he thought. He'd spent much of his childhood lying to teachers, counselors, doctors, lawyers, other children. His very survival had depended on it. He'd had to be careful. The lie that worked for Mrs. Stringburn wouldn't work for Mr. Blanchard. He'd had to keep straight what he'd told the grocer from what he'd told the doctor, from what he'd told his teachers and neighbors. They all thought he was a good little boy who was a big help to his mother, now a single parent. None of them knew that behind the well tended lawn and the ornate front door with the decorative knocker engraved with the word REID in a beautiful font, a ten year old child was keeping them afloat in a sea of change and uncertainty. Perhaps his profiling career had begun back then when he'd had to learn to read the different personalities in his world and adapt his behavior accordingly.

He fingered the medallion in his pocket. He had given John's back to him a few weeks ago when he'd gotten his own. Like John, he never left home without it. Touching it was a reminder to him that he was strong enough to get through life without drugs. He was enormously thankful that he had not gone down the same path as Jazz Warren. In his case though, it wouldn't really have mattered to his parents. But now he had Allie, Evan and the people on this plane with him, family in every way that counted. He would never do anything to jeopardize that. He gave the medallion one last rub, stood and headed for the back of the plane. He returned a few moments later with a cup of coffee and sat opposite Morgan who had been listening to music but sensing Reid's presence, opened his eyes. "Well," Reid said, as he shuffled the deck of cards in his hands, "Feeling lucky."

--

Reid, Emily and Morgan were at their desks, steaming coffee in their hands while JJ leaned against Morgan's desk having a morning chat before they began the day. JJ had informed them that there was nothing pressing which meant they would spend the day on paperwork and consults. The sixth floor elevator dinged heralding the arrival of Hotch and Rossi. Hotch looked at JJ who shook her head to indicate no pressing cases to which Hotch raised his eyes heavenward, glad for a day at Quantico. The elevator dinged again although the agents in the bullpen weren't quite so pleased to see its occupant get off on their floor. Slouches became straight backs and laid back demeanors became professional as Section Chief Erin Strauss walked in.

This morning she wore a navy blue suit which was complimented with a paisley blouse in blue, burgundy and grey. The suit contrasted nicely with her blond hair and the blouse brought out the grey of her steely eyes. Reid hated to admit it to himself but the suit looked quite attractive on her. She spied Hotch and headed straight for him, some files nestled in the crook of her arm. "Good morning," she said sharply.

"Good morning ma'am," the group responded as one except for Rossi who left off the ma'am.

"SSA Hotchner," she began, "I need the budget predictions for the next quarter by end of the day tomorrow. There are also some product evaluations that I need completed by you and your staff. Please have them on my desk as soon as possible. Purchasing has to make some decisions. Now, I also have a list of candidates to fill the position of teaching the recruits that used to be handled by Gideon but has now fallen to Art Lambert who has come back from retirement to do this for us but not on a full time basis. SSA Rossi tells me he's not that interested in the teaching aspect so we need to find a replacement. After you've surveyed the list, I'd appreciate your input." She handed the files to Hotch.

"Yes ma'am," Hotch replied. "I'll get on it first thing since we don't appear to have a case today."

Strauss nodded and turned to leave but then stopped, turning to Reid. "Congratulations, Dr. Reid."

"Congratulations ma'am," Reid looked at the section chief, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"You didn't think I wouldn't find out about Lake Louise, did you," she asked.

Damn, he thought. How had she found out? He and Allie had decided to tell the important people in their lives together. He supposed she couldn't wait and had blurted it out to someone in QD or they had seen the ring. She certainly made no effort to hide it. Knowing the grapevine in this place…"Oh, uh that, well Allie and…"

"Allie," Strauss replied questioningly. It was her turn to look confused. "There was no mention of any Allie."

Reid felt the need to give his head a shake but ignored it. "Mentioned, ma'am?"

"You look confused Dr. Reid, I bet that doesn't happen very often," Strauss stated with the closest anyone had seen to a smile.

"More often than you might think ma'am," Reid replied.

"I received a fax, or to be more specific the director received a fax, that he forwarded to me from a Superintendent McVeigh of the RCMP in Ottawa commending your assisting the RCMP in apprehending the kidnapper of Megan Gautier. I guess her father is some billionaire businessman and philanthropist who's very into starting programs to better communities so the Canadian people are quite fond of him. They were very impressed with you. It's always good to have the FBI seen in a favorable light by other nations. Good work."

"Uh, thank you ma'am." Reid replied.

Strauss turned and headed for the elevators when Reid who had been mulling over something she'd said spoke again. "Section Chief Strauss," he said as he approached her. "You said there was no mention of Technical Analyst Allie Graham?"

"No," Strauss confirmed, "Only you were mentioned."

"Well there should have been," Reid didn't realize that he had raised his voice. "She was the main reason we caught the suspect in the first place. We had no idea who he was. All we had were the initials TD from Megan Gautier's diary. It was Technical Analyst Graham's examination of the ransom note and her research of the watermark that led to us identifying him. She deserves as much recognition in this as I do."

"Yes, well she didn't go down the rapids in a raft and jump into those same rapids to save the girl and give her CPR, now did she?"

"No, she didn't," Reid's tone was getting clipped. "But we wouldn't have been on those rapids, in a position to save her if it hadn't been for Allie's investigation of the note. She and Garcia managed to figure out who he was and then were able to trace his credit card and find where he was holed up."

"Garcia!" Morgan whispered from his place in the group, who all looked at one another, baffled.

"Fine," Strauss turned again to the elevator, effectively dismissing Reid. "I'll contact the head of QD and give him the information you gave me. He can put a commendation in her file." She turned back and looked at Reid, "Satisfied?"

Reid nodded as Strauss got on the elevator. He turned back to see the team all standing with their arms crossed in front of them, staring pointedly at him. Oh damn, he had some explaining to do!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

"Reid," Hotch had only to say one word in that stern tone that brooked no argument.

"Okay, I'll explain everything," Reid said and launched into the tale of meeting the Gautiers, Megan's subsequent kidnapping and being asked to help find the girl by her distraught father. He detailed his contact with the RCMP and his surprise that Inspector Butler actually knew who he was. He described Allie's examination of the watermark and the part Garcia played in the events that ended with him and Grant Heeley doing CPR on the rocky shore of the Kicking Horse River.

"Wow, that was some vacation," Emily stated when Reid had finished.

"You just can't stay out of trouble can you?" JJ asked.

"I try but these things seem to follow me and this time it wasn't even my fault!"

"Man, what I wouldn't give to have seen you white water rafting down that river with the Mounties," Morgan interjected with a laugh.

"Yeah, Morgan, it was a blast. We were soaked to the bone and we had to wait for what seemed like forever for a helicopter. It gets cool up there at night!"

"Well, I'm glad everything worked out for the Gautiers and no one was seriously hurt," Hotch added. "Let's get to work everyone." Hotch, Rossi and JJ headed for the stairs while Morgan, Prentiss and Reid sat at their desks and eyed the stack of consults on each one.

Reid picked up his phone and dialed Allie's extension. "Questioned Documents, Allie Graham," greeted him when the phone was answered.

"Hi, are you doing anything for lunch," Reid asked?

"Well, I was planning on eating," she responded. "Why," she said suspiciously, "You didn't have something else in mind, did you?" She sounded surprised yet strangely excited at the prospect.

"No!" He squeaked into the phone. "I wasn't thinking of that, well, I'm always thinking of it a little. I'm a guy, you know."

"Oh, believe me honey, I know that."

He proceeded to tell her what he had in mind.

--

JJ strode into the conference room carrying two bags from the local deli. It had been her turn to pick up lunch today. She set the brown bags on the table, opened them and started dealing out everyone's selections. "Pastrami on rye."

"Here," Morgan said and JJ passed over the sandwich.

"Chicken Caesar, dressing on the side," she set the Styrofoam container down by her own chair. "Tossed salad and a Kaiser roll," Emily raised her hand as JJ handed her the meal. "Mushroom soup and a ham and Swiss on white," Rossi nodded taking it from JJ and then setting the hot bowl down quickly. "Soup and a roast beef for Hotch, and a cheeseburger hero for Garcia." She set these items on the table by two empty chairs as neither had arrived in the conference room yet. "That means the remainder is yours Reid," JJ looked at what was left in the bag. "How can you eat this much and still stay so skinny? A cobb salad, ranch on the side, two chicken salad sandwiches on whole wheat with a side order of fries."

"Because it's not all for him," said a voice from the doorway. Allie proceeded into the room. "Though the amount he can put away without gaining an ounce is sinful."

"Oh hi Allie," Emily said, "I'm glad you could join us."

"You wouldn't think you'd want to after spending six days alone with this guy," Morgan inclined his head toward Reid.

"Six days or six thousand days, it's never enough," Allie replied.

"Six thousand days, girl do you know how long that is," Morgan continued. "It must be…" He tilted his head back attempting to do the math.

"Sixteen point four eight years," Reid responded as he chewed on his chicken salad sandwich.

Hotch entered the room with Garcia following closely behind. They settled into their seats and Hotch said, shaking his head, "Budget." He lifted the lid off his soup and the savory aroma wafted into the room.

"So," JJ said, "Tell us about Lake Louise."

Allie was chewing on her cobb salad and looked pointedly at Reid but he said nothing so she began, "It's spectacular." Her face lit up as she recalled their vacation spot. "The water and the mountains are so beautiful, and our room, floor to ceiling windows, you felt you were surrounded by this magnificent view. We went on this hike and we met some really nice people, the Gautiers from Richmond, Ontario that is. They were in the room across from us and had three kids…"

"Yeah, we know all about them," Morgan took a sip of his coffee. "Reid told us all about the kidnapping."

"Oh," Allie looked a little stunned. "Here I am going on and on and Spencer's already told you all about it." She turned to look at Reid. "You could have told me you already told them everything."

"No Allie, he didn't tell us everything," Emily explained. "He only told us about the kidnapping."

"He probably wouldn't have told us that." Rossi added. "If Strauss hadn't congratulated him and informed him the RCMP from Ottawa sent a fax to the director commending his actions. After that he sort of had to explain."

"Really honey," Allie's dark eyed danced as she looked at Reid. "That's great, a commendation, wow, and Strauss actually congratulated you. I would love to have seen that."

"What you should have seen was my man here sticking up for you," Morgan told her. "Strauss said that you weren't mentioned and Reid just told her in no uncertain terms that you were a big part of the reason the guy was caught and you deserved a commendation as much as he did."

The room was suddenly silent with everyone's attention centered on Allie. She put the fork she'd been eating her salad with down and turned to Reid. "You did that," she asked quietly, "In the bullpen, in front of everyone?"

"Well yeah," Reid excitedly told her. "I was proud of what you did and I don't care who knows it."

The eyes that were dancing moments earlier were now burning as if lit by a match. Reid saw the look. He knew it well. He just hadn't expected to see it here…now. Reid's expression was baffled, "Allie…what?"

"How…how could you have done that," Allie's eyes blazed at him and then looked down at her hands, aware that the others were watching her.

"I…I…how could I not, when I saw you weren't getting the credit you deserved. The RCMP owe catching that guy to you. If it wasn't for you we'd all still be scratching our heads wondering who the hell TD was. You were so good. I was so proud of you."

"Look, I know you mean well but you're biased so you really shouldn't speak out on my behalf. I don't need you to fight my battles for me." Her fiery eyes glared at him.

"That's not what I was tr…"

"Do you think," Allie spun up out of her chair, "That I can't think for myself, stick up for myself?"

"Of course, you can, I didn't…"

"Do you think I want brownie points and commendations on my file because my boyfriend talked to the brass?"

"Boyfriend?" Reid stood up as well.

She waved her arms around in his face, trying to make her point. "I don't want my coworkers and others in this building to think I'm trying to get ahead because I'm sleeping with a superior."

Seven jaws dropped at once. The room again was silent until Garcia noticed something and said excitedly, "Allie, what's that on your left hand."

"Oh yeah," Allie responded through her anger, "That's why I was coming to lunch today, to break the news." She shoved her hand out so the diamond was visible to the whole team. "We're getting married," and then stormed out of the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Reid looked at his team in shock following Allie's outburst and subsequent departure. "Uh, I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to be like that. It's my fault. I shouldn't have said anything to Strauss. I thought I was helping, correcting an injustice because she should have been mentioned. I guess I screwed up big time. I should go apologize." He turned and strode toward the door.

"Reid," Hotch called after him. The genius turned back to look at his boss. "Leave her be for now. Let her calm down. She's too upset right now for an apology."

Reid nodded. "Come back and finish your lunch," Garcia coaxed, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"I don't feel much like eating Garcia," Reid said as he allowed his friend to lead him back into the room.

"Well sweetcheeks, you have to eat something and it's already here so we might as well continue." She sat Reid in his seat and she took the chair vacated by Allie, reaching across the table to retrieve her sandwich.

"Reid, I'm sorry man, I wouldn't have said anything but I had no idea Allie would go off on you like that," Morgan told his friend.

"That's because you're a man," Emily said as JJ's phone rang and she excused herself to take the call.

"What do you mean, Emily," Reid asked?

"Reid, for many years the FBI and probably the RCMP, has been an old boys' club. It's changing but in some places it still is. Women have to work very hard to get the respect they deserve. You are totally correct saying that Allie deserved the commendation as much as you. She just doesn't want to get it because you lobbied for it. She wants to earn it on her own."

"But Emily, that's just it, she did earn it. I wasn't blowing anything she did out of proportion. The RCMP owes her for that collar. Nobody asked her, she just looked at the note and went to work. Garcia can verify that." He turned and nodded at the computer tech. "They found Timothy Drummond together."

"I guess it's how Allie feels it looks to everyone else," Hotch interjected. "They think she got a commendation because you asked for it. They aren't aware of what she did because they weren't there, so all they see is her boyfriend, sorry, fiancé, asking that she get special consideration." Hotch stood and came around to Reid's chair and held out his hand, "Congratulations by the way."

Reid stood and took Hotch's hand. "Th…thanks, that is if she still wants to marry me."

"Of course she still wants to marry you silly," Garcia said, enfolding him in her arms. "Congratulations sweet boy," she softly kissed his cheek.

Emily was the next to embrace him, "She's a lucky girl," she whispered in his ear. After the rocky time he and Emily had been through in the past, they were the sweetest words he could have heard.

Dave shook his hand and fervently hoped that whatever deity was in charge gave Reid a better marriage than the ones he'd had although he didn't mention this to the young man.

Morgan opened his arms to his friend and clapped him warmly on the back. "I'll take you shopping for the tux," he whispered, "Since we had pretty good luck when we shopped for clothes for the first date."

JJ entered the room and hugged Reid offering her congratulations as well. When she pulled back she said, "We have a case."

--

Reid entered the Questioned Documents lab hoping Allie had calmed down from lunch. Cam Morrison was at the desk. "Hi," Reid said, "Could I possibly speak to Allie Graham?"

"Oh, Dr. Reid," Cam responded. "She's working on some notes for Missing Persons, trying to track down a certain ink. She said she didn't want to be disturbed. She seemed kind of driven."

Reid nodded. "I guess I'll talk to her later. Is it okay if I leave her a note?"

"Sure," Cam passed Reid a pad of paper. Reid wrote his note, ripped it off, folded it and handed it to Cam. "I'll see she gets it Dr. Reid." Reid nodded and left the department. He didn't have time to worry about it. Hotch had said wheels up in an hour."

--

Allie emerged from her lab bench. She needed to stretch and have a sip of java. "Oh," Cam said when he saw her, "Your boyfriend was here wanting to talk to you but you said not to disturb you." Allie walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself coffee in a cup the had an I, a big red heart and a U on it. Spencer had bought it for her in one of the many airports he visited. She had laughed herself silly when he gave it to her. It was not the kind of thing he typically bought. She supposed she needed to apologize for her blowup especially since she'd been so rude to the team and spoiled their engagement announcement. She didn't realize Cam was still talking, "In your IN box."

"What," Allie said, "Sorry, I spaced out for a second."

"Your boyfriend wrote you a note. I put it in your IN box." Cam shook his head and returned to his own work bench.

Allie went over to her desk and set her coffee down. There in her IN box was a folded piece of paper with Allie written on the front of it in Spencer's scribble. She unfolded the note and began to read.

_Allie,_

_I'm sorry for what I did earlier. I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you too much to ever mean to do that. Anyway, we have a case in Boston. I came to say good bye but Cam says you're really busy and you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll call you later tonight._

_I love you,_

_Spencer_

_xxoo_

Damn it, why had she told Cam not to let anyone disturb her. "Cam," she yelled, "Tell Bruce I had to leave the office but that I didn't take my full lunch and I'll stay late." She grabbed her purse and didn't even bother to throw off her lab coat. She pulled out her cell phone and speed dialed Spencer only to hear his voice mail. She dialed again, "Garcia, has the team left yet?"

"Oh, hi, yeah, they're at the airfield but they haven't taken off yet. There's a lot of air traffic today and they haven't got clearance yet."

"I tried calling Spencer but his cell goes to voice mail." Allie said excitedly. She really had to talk to Spencer.

"Yeah, well they have to turn them off in flight, but they didn't get a lot of time to go over the case before they left so they're probably discussing it now while they're waiting for take off. He's probably turned it off so it doesn't interrupt the case discussion."

"Okay, thanks Garcia, I'll talk to you later." Allie quickly closed her phone and headed for the elevator effectively cutting off Garcia's…

"Wait, Allie come here, I can contact him on the computer. Allie…Allie."

Allie rushed out of the elevator at the parking level and ran for Spencer's SUV, praying she'd get there before their plane took off. She headed on the route to the airfield going a little over the speed limit. The green light at the intersection was about to turn yellow and did so just as Allie entered the intersection leaving no time for her to brake. Halfway through the intersection she felt a sudden jolt and heard metal hitting metal. Glass was smashing in on her. Her vehicle began to move sideways. She felt pain like she'd never felt before. Cars around her screeched to a stop. Motorists left their vehicles and approached the SUV, some using cell phones to call 911. Horns honked. But Allie Graham noticed none of it.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

"Okay, so the unsub shoots the parents, molests the kids and then sets fire to the house," Morgan said to clarify the situation.

The team was gathered in the middle of the aircraft as it wended its way towards Boston's Logan International Airport. Due to mechanical problems stalling a couple of planes in the area, the team had managed to take off sooner than they had anticipated.

JJ nodded, "That's about it."

"And it's all in this one neighborhood," Reid added. "It's like the unsub has a vendetta against this neighborhood."

"Could it be where he lives so it's in his comfort zone," Emily wondered. "And that way he gets to see first hand the reaction to his handiwork."

"The parents are tied up in the living room while the children are molested," Rossi considered. "He wants to make the parents suffer, knowing what is happening to the children. Since all the children are found near the parents, maybe he molests them in front of the parents, making them watch. Why?"

--

The distant shrill of sirens gave the first indications that the initial responders were approaching the accident site. The intersection was clear except for the two vehicles involved. A red Mazda B2000 had hit the driver's side of a black Ford Explorer. The truck, its front end puckered like an accordion had spun around and was now facing the opposite direction, the driver's head resting on the airbag. They could not get the driver's door open but upon wrestling the passenger door open, they could smell the faint scent of alcohol. The truck's driver did not appear too seriously injured. There was not what the responders considered a substantial amount of blood in the truck's interior. Broken bones in the leg were the most likely injury, paramedics thought. The driver of the black SUV was another matter entirely.

Getting the driver's door open without mechanical assistance would be a complete impossibility. They opened the passenger door and noticed the young woman, her head also resting on an airbag. In her case, however, there was blood, a lot of it. Glass from the windows had rained on the left side of her face and pieces could be seen embedded in her flesh. The worst injury, however, appeared to be to her lower abdomen, where the sharp metal driven inward from the impact had pierced her abdomen which was bleeding profusely. "Barry, get someone. Get that door open, we've got to get this woman out of here fast," Tom Wells said to the paramedic behind him. Firefighters were already approaching the vehicle as Tom spoke with the Jaws of Life to force the SUV's door open so paramedics could attend to the unfortunate young woman.

--

"Okay," Garcia said, "I've got a list of all the residents of that street. What exactly am I looking for?" The team could see the tech's face on the computer screen.

"Garcia," Hotch replied, "Look for a man living alone, possibly with a low paying job or a criminal record. Something happened to this man and he's blaming the people on the street. Look for reports of domestic disturbance or child molestation going back twenty years."

"Gotcha," the perky tech said, ready to sign off when she added, "Did you see Allie sweet boy?"

"No Garcia, I haven't seen her since well, you know."

"She tried to call you," Garcia told him. "Your phone went to voice mail. It sounded like she was going to try to get to the plane before you left. I guess she didn't get there in time. Oh well, you'll get a good welcome when you get back, ciao boys and girls."

--

After getting the door open, Tom and Barry began tending to Allie Graham. They applied steady pressure to her bleeding abdomen and a cervical collar to her neck before attempting to move her. They took vitals signs and then lifted her on to a waiting gurney for transport. The cream mock turtleneck sweater and tan slacks Allie wore were soaked with her blood as was her lab coat. Tom pointed to the pocket of her lab coat where the letters FBI were prominently displayed. Barry nodded as they lifted Allie into a waiting ambulance. Chuck and Matt were working on the driver of the truck with equal diligence and soon the two ambulances were enroute to the Inova Alexandria Hospital.

Barry drove while Tom established an intravenous line in Allie's right arm. He kept track of her vitals, radioing Alexandria with the information to prepare them for their arrival. Tom looked at the woman on the stretcher. She was a pretty woman he thought, with a heart shaped face and chin length brown hair. Her lab coat identified her as FBI. He examined the rest of her body for injury and when he picked up her left hand took note of the engagement ring. "Somebody loves you, huh pretty lady?"

--

"Alright, when we land in Boston let's hit the ground running," Hotch told his team. "Morgan and Prentiss, crime scenes. Rossi and Reid, I want you to go to the medical examiner's office. JJ and I will set up base and liaise with the Boston PD."

--

Allie was rushed through the doors of the ER at Inova Alexandria Hospital. The nurses and orderlies were ready and waiting. They moved her seamlessly from the gurney to the ER stretcher. One nurse started to immediately do vital signs while another took a pair of scissors to Allie's clothes. Once the slacks and sweater were removed and the nurses removed the pressure dressing, revealing the deep gash caused by the sharp metal. "It looks like the metal that initially pierced the abdomen moved around in there while the car was still in motion," one of the nurses said. "That is just plain nasty."

Dr. Holbrook came into the room, examined Allie for a few minutes and turned to the nurses, "Prep her for the OR stat."

"Does anybody have any idea who this woman is," another nurse yelled.

Phil Honeycut, one of the officers that responded to the accident yelled from outside the room that he had her purse and her driver's license said her name was Allie Graham.

"Any next of kin mentioned," the same nurse asked.

"Yeah," Honeycut replied opening Allie's wallet, "It says a Dr. Spencer Reid. There's three phone numbers, home, cell and office."

"I suppose we should try the cell, he'll probably have that no matter where he is," the nurse replied, walking up to Honeycut. "Okay give me the number, I guess I get the lucky job of making the notification. Always the favorite part of my day, telling some poor shmuck that the person he loves is seriously injured, at least she's not dead….yet!"

The plane touched down in Boston and the team alit to go about their assigned tasks. As they were walking to the SUVs, Reid's cell rang. He looked at the call display but didn't recognize the number. "Reid."

"Is this Dr. Spencer Reid," a female voice on the phone asked.

"Yes," Reid replied, "I'm Spencer Reid."

"My name is Michelle Langston. I'm calling from Inova Alexandria Hospital. I'm calling to inform you…"


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

The team saw Reid stop in the middle of the tarmac, his eyes widened in shock as he listened to the caller. They stopped as well; concerned about what their youngest member was being told that had him looking so startled. Maybe something had happened to his mother, Hotch pondered, and this assessment seemed to be confirmed when the young man said, "When did this…" He listened some more. "How badly is she hurt?" The team's alertness heightened at this and they looked back and forth between one another shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads. Reid seemed oblivious to all this as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone. He gasped and his voice choked, "Is she…is she going to be okay?" This was serious, Hotch thought, as he took in Reid's demeanor. The man appeared to have deflated before his eyes. He looked like he was about to crumble into the asphalt below. "I'm in Boston; I'll get there as soon as I can. Is she conscious? T…tell her I love her." Reid ended the call and looked at his team, who seemed to float around in front of him in a watery haze from the tears that filled his eyes.

"Reid," Hotch said putting his hand on the young profiler's shoulder. He could feel the man shaking beneath his touch.

Reid turned and looked at Hotch and the unit chief could see the tears that had welled up in the sensitive brown eyes. "A…Allie was in a c…car accident. She has abdominal injuries. It looks kind of bad. They're prepping her for emergency surgery. Hotch I have…" but Hotch had already stepped away from the team and pulled out his cell.

"Oracle of Quantico, speak ye who seek the truth."

"Garcia, no playing, this is serious. Allie's been in a serious car accident. Reid needs to get back home fast, get him on a flight," Hotch spoke sternly into his cell.

"Oh my God, oh no, it's not…"

"Garcia, it is true, get me a flight for Reid now!"

"Sir, all the flights here from Boston are full," the tech replied sadly.

"Garcia, when's the next one," Hotch asked?

"United 438 leaves in forty-five minutes," she told her boss.

"See that Reid is on that flight." He drowned out her 'but' with, "I don't care if it's full, you're a smart woman, a computer genius. You always say you can do anything with your babies. Prove it. Bump someone, make them disappear. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir, I'll take care of it. He'll have a seat on that flight," she assured Hotch.

"And Garcia…" Hotch said.

"I know sir, we never had this conversation."

Hotch closed his cell and turned to Reid, who the other team members were trying to comfort. "There's a United flight in forty-five minutes, let's get you to the terminal and get you a ticket."

Reid followed Hotch as if in a daze. Allie had been so angry at him. If he hadn't said anything to Strauss they wouldn't have had the fight, she wouldn't have felt driven to prove herself and avoid him and then she wouldn't have been trying to get to the plane before it left. It was all his fault. His teammates were talking. They might have been talking to him, he wasn't sure. He didn't care. He had to get to Allie. That was all that mattered in this world. They reached the United terminal and Hotch flashed his ID saying they needed a ticket on the next flight to DC. It was an emergency. The ticket agent looked at them doubtfully but checked her computer. "You're in luck sir, we have one seat left." Rossi looked at Hotch who kept his head down and Dave wondered if luck had anything to do with Reid's serendipity.

The team waited for Reid's flight to be called and left him at the gate after embracing him, even Hotch and Rossi, and saying they would pray for Allie, wishing him well and reminding him to call as soon as he had any news. Reid told them not to be thinking of him and Allie. The people of Boston were depending on them and now, he apologized, they'd be a man down. They had to give this case their full attention. He walked slowly down the walkway to the plane.

"He looks so small and lonely," JJ remarked.

Hotch again stepped away form the rest of the team and pulled out his cell hitting speed dial. "Anderson," he said quietly into the instrument, "I want you to go to Dulles and pick up Dr. Reid and drive him to the Alexandria hospital. He's on flight 438 from Boston." He ended the call and hit speed dial again. "Garcia, I want you to call Kevin Lynch. Get him down to your office and bring him up to speed on the case. We'll get him to do the computer work."

"Why, what will I be doing, sir?"

"I have something else for you to do." He went on to explain what he needed from the computer tech.

"Got it, sir I am so on it."

--

The flight seemed unending. The stewardesses had given their usual spiel. He'd heard none of it. The woman sitting beside him was something of a chatterbox. He'd heard none of it. The couple behind him had an infant that cried almost the entire ninety minute flight. He'd heard none of it. All he heard was Allie, on the phone asking him out to a concert. Allie, ringing his doorbell at seven thirty in the morning because it had snowed the night before and she wanted to challenge him to his very first snowball fight. Allie saying after their fourth date that he didn't really have to leave if he didn't want to. Allie, giving him quiet but steadfast support through the aftermath of Georgia and his relationships with Evan and his father. Allie, a little spitfire when angry, who'd stand up to Hotch, her father or anyone she thought might harm someone she cared about. Allie, who only a few short days ago, said she'd be proud to be his wife.

He practically ran down the walkway to the terminal at Dulles. He was about to run for the car rental desk when a voice stopped him. "Dr. Reid," Reid turned to find Agent Anderson standing there. "Agent Hotchner asked me to drive you to the hospital, the car's this way," he indicated with his hand and Reid followed because it was the quickest way to get to Allie.

Reid walked into the hospital after telling Anderson there was no need to wait, he would be here for a while. He entered the ER, which was about half full of people waiting to be seen, and inquired at the desk. The clerk called for the nurse who had called him. Michelle, a tall blonde with blue eyes that reminded him of JJ, told him as she reached for the phone that she would check with the OR. She hung up a few moments later and told him Allie was still in surgery. Reid followed the nurse through a maze of hallways until they came to the OR waiting room. She told him the doctor would come and speak to him when the surgery was over. Reid sat on the uncomfortable vinyl covered couch. He looked at the watch he wore around the cuff of his shirt. He heard the incessant tick of the clock on the wall. He opened his wallet and took out a picture he'd recently put there, Allie, the sun shining off her hair, her eyes twinkling as she smiled broadly at him with the Bridal Veil Falls cascading behind her. When he'd sat for what he was sure was an eternity, the door was finally opened by a middle aged woman in blue surgical scrubs with wisps of mousy brown hair peeking out from beneath her surgical cap. Her shoes were also covered. "Dr. Reid," she asked. Reid nodded. "Dr. Jean Kelleher," she said.

"How's Allie," Reid asked?

Seeing Dr. Reid was not in the mood for pleasantries she launched into her explanation of her patient's injuries. "Miss Graham sustained a very intense cut to her lower abdomen when the metal from the car door was pushed in on her during impact. She lost quite a lot of blood and we had to do a lot of repair work to blood vessels and organs." Reid nodded his understanding. "The most serious damage was the total destruction of the left ovary and severe ripping of the uterus."

"Did she lose the ovary," Reid asked?

"Yes, we weren't able to save it, it was too badly damaged."

"But other than that she'll be okay," Reid asked hopefully.

"That remains to be seen. She'll recover fully but whether it affects her ability to bear children is still uncertain. She'll only ovulate half as often and whether the scar tissue in the uterus will affect her ability to carry a child is something we won't be able to assess until or if it happens."

Reid nodded again, unable to find his voice.

"We're giving her blood, IV fluids and IV antibiotics and analgesics. She'll be in the recovery room for a while. We'll let you know when we transfer her to a room." The doctor nodded and left.

Reid dropped onto the couch and put his head in his hands. This couldn't be happening. Allie wanted children so badly. He had been the one that was balking at parenthood but now that there was a possibility that Allie would have difficulty, he wanted to take it all back. Had he caused this, he asked himself. Had he been so afraid to be a father that he wished it wouldn't happen? What is it they say, he thought, be careful what you wish for. He suddenly knew that wasn't what he wanted. Strangely the knowledge brought comfort but also pain that now he had come to the realization, it may never happen. With his head in his hands, he sobbed.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Garcia had given Kevin a rundown on the facts of the case and what Hotch had wanted her to look for. Okay, my love, I'll do this for you," he said as he settled into her chair and faced her wall of computers, her babies. "Promise me one thing," he said as she headed for the door.

"What's that," she asked.

"You'll drive carefully," he pleaded.

"I'll be extra careful. Ciao my sweetheart," she said and kissed him before rushing out the door.

--

A nurse approached Reid gingerly, "Sir, are you okay," she touched him on the shoulder and jumped back when Reid raised his head and sprang quickly to his feet.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Is it Allie, did something happen," he asked the nurse.

"No, no, she's okay. She came through the surgery fine." She held a brown envelope in her hand. "These are Miss Graham's valuables. Patients aren't allowed to wear jewelry in surgery and since you're her next of kin," she handed him the envelope. "Less chance of things getting lost. They'll be moving her to a room in a few minutes."

Reid stared at the envelope, "Th…thank you," he said as the nurse turned and left the room.

--

"We've got another murder but this one's different," JJ told the team when they arrived at the precinct after visits to the crime scenes and the coroner's office. Hotch had taken Reid's place and gone with Rossi.

"If it's different, how do we know it's the same guy," Morgan asked.

"Same MO, but this time it wasn't in that neighborhood and it wasn't a couple with their children," JJ reported. "It was a retired couple with their two granddaughters. They were tied up in the living room like the others, shot, the girls were molested and killed and then the house was set on fire."

"So, he's escalating," Rossi interjected. "He's moving outside his comfort zone."

"I'll call Garcia," Morgan said, flipping open his phone.

"Morgan, I've got Garcia doing something else. Kevin Lynch is handling Garcia's duties," Hotch informed him.

"Kevin," Morgan exclaimed! "What the…"

"Morgan, it's not up for discussion. Lynch's handling it." Hotch said his final words on the subject. Morgan shook his head and pressed speed dial.

"Answer man, whatcha need," Kevin asked.

"Kevin, we have a Roy and Laura Clarkson of 1432 Franklin Park Drive," Morgan informed him. "Find any connection you can with the neighborhood of Findlay Street. We need to figure out what they have to do with this."

The team could hear Lynch's fingers tapping away on the keys. "I'll get back to you when I have something." The connection was broken.

Morgan looked at Hotch, "Hotch…"

"Leave it Morgan."

--

Reid opened the envelope and looked inside. Her wallet as well as her FBI ID was there with her watch, a pair of small gold studs, the only earrings she wore to work and in the very bottom corner, her engagement ring. _She was dancing around the hotel room in Lake Louise looking at her hand, newly adorned with the gem. "I am never ever taking this off," she said. _He slipped the ring back in the envelope. Valuables, it said on the outside. He guessed in a way they were. What was truly valuable was what she had lost, a part of herself and perhaps part of her future, their future. The walls seemed to close in on him in this small stuffy room. He opened the door allowing some air to filter into the room and once again sat down on the couch to wait.

--

Hotch's cell rang, "Hotchner," he answered.

"Agent Hotchner, Kevin Lynch, I've been doing a search on Findlay street and the only link I can find between Findlay street and Roy or Laura Clarkson is that he taught fifth grade at Washington Elementary School and that's the elementary school closest to Findlay street so he likely taught most of the kids who lived on Findlay. He retired six years ago."

"Good work Lynch, what about any police reports from the street," Hotch asked putting his cell on speaker.

"There were very few police reports although there was one from 1254 Findlay, the Delaney house. They reported their fourteen year old son Clint as missing. The police filed missing person's report and it appears, kept it active for a number of years but he was never found. They had another son Joel who was ten at the time."

"And would have been in fifth grade," Emily interjected, "Possibly in Mr. Clarkson's class."

"Are you thinking Clarkson was molesting the children in his class," JJ asked the profilers?

"What if Joel told his older brother and he confronted Clarkson and Clarkson killed him and disposed of the body," Morgan suggested.

"That would explain why Joel might have it in for Clarkson but why the people on the street," Rossi stated? "That makes no sense."

"Lynch," Hotch said, "Find us everything you can on Joel Delaney."

--

Reid exited the elevator on the third floor. The nurse from the OR had come back and informed him that Allie had been moved to room 309. He walked down the corridor with its mundane beige walls and grey flooring taking in the numbers until he came to 309. He entered the room. The space was illuminated by bright fluorescent lights. An array of medical equipment could be seen throughout the room. An IV pole stood on the right side of the bed with a pump and three bags of clear solution hanging on it, its fluid infusing through clear tubing into Allie's right forearm. Another IV pole nestled in the corner on the left side of the bed with an identical pump, a bag of normal saline and a unit of packed red blood cells. The sanguine serum was plopping silently into the drip chamber and snaked downward through the tubing into Allie's left forearm. On the right side of the bed there was also an electronic blood pressure machine, thermometer and pulse oxymeter which a nurse in a pink scrub suit was using to chart vital signs. Another nurse in a blue uniform was dutifully charting the levels of all the fluids in the bags. A shelf behind the bed held bottles and tubing for oxygen and suction as well as an ambu bag. He was relieved that none of these things were in use but was comforted knowing they were close by if the worst happened.

In the middle of this bright sterile looking existence with the matching pumps pumping and the two nurses recording every infinitesimal snippet of information, was Allie. Her hair looked so dark against the starkly white pillow and her face seemed as white as the sheets that covered her. She was silent and unmoving. Reid was thankful he could see the rise and fall of her chest. He crept silently closer, the two nurses, absorbed in their tasks, seemed unaware of his presence. He got to the end of the bed when a sob escaped as he noticed the many little cuts on her face from where the shattered glass had rained in on her.

The two nurses turned and took in Reid's expression. "You must be Spencer, hi, I'm Josie" the nurse in the pink said. She was rather plump with short dark hair. "It looks worse than it is. The cuts aren't deep, mostly superficial and should heal in a few days with no scarring." Scarring! Is that what she thought bothered him? Did she think that he was somehow worried that Allie would be less than perfect after her accident? What really bothered him was that his precious Allie was lying here going through the pain, both physical and emotional, of this ordeal at all.

The other nurse, who identified herself as Pam, brought a chair and placed it next to the bed. She put the side rails down and patted the chair. "Why don't you sit here? This is the call bell, just squeeze it if you need one of us. She may take a while to wake up. She's weak after all the blood she's lost and, of course, the anesthetic. We'll leave you two alone." The two nurses turned and left the room.

He reached over the covers and took her hand in his, bending over to kiss her lips. "I'm here Allie," he whispered. "I'm here sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere." Something about her hand felt funny and he smirked at how quickly one could get used to little things. He picked up the envelope from the table where he'd set it and reached into it coming out with her engagement ring between his fingers. He gently slid the diamond on her left hand. "There," he said, his bottom lip quivering, "It's back where it belongs," he managed to get out just as the tears that started in the waiting room continued to slide unchecked down his cheeks. He felt an arm gently envelop his shoulders and lips softly touch the top of his head. Still unaware of whom it was he turned in to the embrace because he needed the comfort it offered. The arms held him while he sobbed and when he finally looked up his jaw dropped, "What are you… how did you get here?"

"You didn't think I could let my brother go through something like this alone, did you," Evan said as he looked down at Reid.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

"What are you…How did you get…" Reid said in shock.

"You didn't think I could let my brother go through something like this alone, did you," Evan asked as he looked down at Reid.

"How did you know? How did you get here? Did Janice…" Reid asked. His younger brother's answer was to point to the doorway.

There in the doorway stood Penelope Garcia. Her bright red skirt was complimented with a white and red figured tunic top. Her blonde hair was pulled back with red barrettes and her platform shoes and glasses matched her skirt. In this microcosm of dull and muted colors she was, and always would be, a breath of fresh air.

"Garcia, what are you doing here," Reid squeaked, walking over to take her hand and draw her into the room.

"You need your family and right now, Evan and I are the only ones available," Garcia told him.

"But Garcia, what about Boston, the case?"

"Kevin's handling the computer work. Even I am not irreplaceable," she admitted.

"Yes you are, someone else may be able to punch the right keys but nobody else is Garcia!"

Garcia looked at Allie, who hadn't moved with any of the commotion in the room, and appeared to be sleeping peacefully on the bed. "How is she?"

Reid looked down at his hands. "She got cut up pretty badly from the metal on impact. Her face on the left side got all cut with shattered glass. She," his voice choked, "She lost an ovary and her uterus was ripped up pretty badly. They don't know if it'll affect her ability to have children. It remains to be seen, is how the doctor put it." He turned back to his fiancé, taking her hand. "She wants kids so badly."

"This is all my fault," he continued. "She wouldn't have been on that street if I'd kept my damn mouth shut instead of taking her side with Strauss."

Evan looked totally confused at his brother's admission. "Sweet boy," Garcia began, "This is in no way your fault. You had no way of knowing any of this would happen."

"You know, I've always been afraid about having kids," he caressed Allie's hand, "Because of the genetic component to schizophrenia, but when the doctor said there might be difficulty, I realized how much I wanted it."

"Mmmm…" Allie moaned from the bed.

--

"You are not going to believe this," Kevin said into his headset.

"Try us Lynch," Rossi said from his seat in the conference room in Boston PD.

"Joel Delaney dropped out of school when he was sixteen. He got a job on the cleaning crew in an office building until he was arrested at twenty for molesting a little girl in his apartment building. He served nine years and got out last year. He's on the sex offender registry. The parents, Mike and Carol Delaney, no longer live at 1254 Findlay Street because they died last year, shortly after Joel was released from prison. They perished in a fire at their cottage at Echo Lake. Joel inherited the house."

"Now, moving on to Clint Delaney, no record of him until 1992."

"You mean he's not dead," Morgan interjected with surprise.

"No, he is definitely not dead. I found a record of a name change. Clint Delaney, at the age of eighteen in Minneapolis Minnesota, changed his name to Jeffrey Donovan. In 2002, he married Cynthia Coulter. No children. They live in Minneapolis and he works for the Hennepin County Department of Pubic Works." He gave them the address and phone number.

"I'll give him a call," Rossi offered, pulling out his cell phone.

--

"Allie, Allie, sweetheart, I'm here," Reid said as the woman he loved slowly regained consciousness. She looked up through veiled eyes, to see a blurry Spencer leaning over her, telling her he was there. Why on earth would he be telling her that? They lived together, of course he was there. As her eyes began to slowly regain focus, she realized something wasn't right. This wasn't their bedroom at home. The ceiling didn't have bright lights like that. Suddenly she felt scared. She wasn't at home and she couldn't remember getting here.

"Spencer," she said through her fog. "What…Where am I," she whispered weakly. She just couldn't seem to find her voice.

"Allie, you're in the hospital. You were in a car accident." Spencer told her.

Car accident! Whose car had she been in? "I…I don't," tears filled her voice. She didn't remember and it was frightening.

"It's okay, you're still groggy from the anesthetic," Reid explained.

"Anesthetic," Allie asked?

"They had to perform surgery on you," he said as Allie looked more closely at her surroundings. She noticed the IV lines and the blood. Surgery, what kind of surgery, she wondered. She put voice to her thoughts.

"What kind of surgery," she asked?

Reid looked at Evan and Garcia. Allie noticed for the first time that there were others in the room. "Let's leave them alone for a while Evan," Garcia said as she took the boy's arm and led him from the room.

--

"Hello," a man's voice answered Rossi's call.

"Is this Jeff Donovan," Rossi asked.

"Yes," the voice responded.

"This is Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me."

"What kind of questions," Jeff asked suspiciously?

"They involve a man named Joel Delaney." Dave responded. He could hear the other man on the line sigh heavily.

"Why do you want to talk to me about Joel? I haven't seen him or anyone in my so called family in twenty years. You obviously know that or you wouldn't have been able to track me down. I put that life behind me a long time ago."

"Your parents are dead," Rossi informed him. "They died in a fire at their cottage on Echo Lake."

"Huh, well shit happens, doesn't it," was the response he received from Jeff.

"You don't seem too upset," Rossi responded.

"No, well, I'm not. You've probably figured out that I left of my own accord. I couldn't live in that house one more day. So I did what I had to do, I got out. I hid underground for four years. Did you know there's a whole underbelly in our society of abused people running and hiding from their abusers? They were good to me," the man completed his ramble.

"So you were sexually abused by one of your parents," Rossi surmised.

"Don't put words in my mouth, Agent Rossi."

"And after you ran away, Joel was left alone in that house," Rossi continued.

"Look, I'm sorry about that okay, but I had to save myself. Self preservation is the most basic human instinct. And don't you dare mention DCFS. I'm sure you're aware of how many children get put back in unstable homes when there's no," he paused momentarily, "Proof."

"We think he may have killed your parents," Rossi added.

"Well good for him," Jeff Donovan hung up the phone.

--

Reid looked in her eyes, wondering if she was coherent enough to take in what he was about to tell her. "What kind of surgery," she repeated?

"Your lower abdomen was pretty cut up from the metal after you were hit and they had to do surgery to repair that," Reid told her.

She looked at him; even through the lessening fog she could see he was upset. There must be something he wasn't saying. "There's more, isn't there," she asked tentatively.

He nodded but didn't speak for a few seconds. Allie waited. "One of your ovaries was destroyed and your uterus was ripped up. They repaired the uterus and blood vessels but they couldn't save the ovary."

"What does that mean," she asked?

"They're not sure if it means anything. You'll only ovulate half as often, they know that but they're not sure about the uterus, it's repaired but they don't know if the amount of scar tissue will hinder a pregnancy," he said before drawing a breath.

She stared at him for a few moments and he wondered if she had comprehended what he'd said and then she said, "You mean, I might not be able to have…have…" She collapsed in Reid's arms, sobbing.

A nurse came into the room. "Your friends said she'd regained consciousness. Dr. Gleason wants to perform a neurological assessment, which couldn't be done while she was unconscious," she said.

"Couldn't we do this later," Reid responded. "You can see she's upset."

"I'm afraid Dr. Gleason won't be here later so he has to do it now. I'm sorry. If you could just wait outside." She pointed toward the door.

"I'll be right outside. If you need me just call okay," Reid said as he rose reluctantly from the side of Allie's bed.

Garcia and Evan were standing outside when he got to the hallway. "Their timing really stinks," he told them. Reid glanced down the hallway and saw a police officer get into the elevator. "Garcia, can you get me the police report of Allie's accident?"

"Reid," Garcia said suspiciously. "I don't think that's a good idea. It's a police matter. They're handling it. I think you should leave it to them."

Garcia's mouth dropped at his next words. He never spoke like that. "Get me that report Garcia, that's an order!"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

"So, it wasn't his teacher that molested Joel. It was one of his parents," Emily confirmed after Rossi had repeated the substance of his conversation with Jeff Donovan.

"Donovan said he couldn't stay in that house. Something had been done to him although he wouldn't admit to exactly what or by whom," Rossi added.

"That left Joel as the target after Jeff, formerly Clint, left," Morgan interjected. "I can see why he'd want to kill them. I understand totally." The team nodded, acknowledging Morgan's own experiences with molestation. "But why the other families on the street and the fifth grade teacher; what did they do to him?"

Hotch's cell rang, "Hotchner."

"Hi Hotch," Reid said as he paced the corridor outside Allie's room. Garcia had looked upset at his tone but had gone off to her car to use her laptop to get him the requested police report.

"Reid, how's Allie," Hotch asked?

"She's going to be okay. She had surgery to repair her uterus and she lost an ovary so there could be some difficulty with a pregnancy. It's a wait and see kind of thing," Reid told his boss.

"I'm glad to hear that she's going to be alright. You take all the time you need with her," Hotch ordered.

"Thanks Hotch, you know, for everything and for sending Garcia to get Evan. How's the case going?"

"Reid, you don't need to worry about the case. You just worry about Allie," Hotch admonished.

"Yeah, but maybe it'll take my mind off everything for a few minutes."

Hotch filled him in on all the information they had in the case thus far and what they suspected about Joel Delaney. Reid was quiet as he mulled it over in his mind. Finally he said, "They watched."

"Reid, what do you mean, they watched," Hotch asked putting his fingers to the bridge of his nose, the evident confusion making his voice sound harsh. "I'm putting you on speaker." Hotch set his cell on the table so the whole team could hear the conversation.

"Okay, what I mean is these people, well not these people per se, but people just like them who lived on the street with their two point five kids and the family dog in their white picket fence houses, watched while Joel was going through hell and did nothing to help him. The same with his fifth grade teacher, he probably suspected something but did nothing."

"I remember feeling that way as a kid," Reid continued. "I was bullied at school and the teachers and the other kids knew about it and did nothing. I think our neighbors might have suspected what was going on in our home but no one tried to help us."

"So," Rossi took up Reid's train of thought, "Joel is making the parents watch their children get molested yet they're powerless to do anything. He wants them to see their children being hurt and no one helping them so they will know what he felt like. Although the people who lived in those houses when he was a child have moved on and their children have grown, the people who live in those houses now represent the same thing to him. Same for the fifth grade teacher and his grandchildren. Maybe he chose the fifth grade teacher because the abuse started then after the brother left."

"That makes a lot of sense," Morgan piped up. "So how do we figure out where he'll strike next? The police have the street under constant surveillance."

"I don't think he'll go back to the street," Reid said. "Geographically, he's moving further away from the starting point which was his home, hence his parents, then the people on the street. Once he moved on to the teacher, he was finished with the street. I think this is an end game with him. He's going to kill himself but he has one more target and it's the furthest away."

"His brother," Emily said.

"But his brother's changed his name and lives in another state. Joel probably doesn't know where to find him," JJ pondered.

"Oh, he probably does," Reid responded. "Lynch found him in one afternoon with all our resources at his disposal. I wonder how long Joel's been looking. I don't think he'd have started this if he couldn't finish. Jeff Donovan is in danger. The doctor's coming out of Allie's room, gotta go, bye." Reid closed his cell and approached Dr Gleason.

--

"Do you think Reid's right," Emily asked after Reid's call ended?

"It certainly makes sense and would explain everything that's happened so far," the unit chief responded.

JJ got up and looked at the blown up map of the street. She touched each house in the order in which they'd been attacked. "There is an order to this," she said. "The first murders occurred in the house closest to 1254 and then progressively move away from it. Why didn't we notice that before?"

"Because we're not Reid," Emily replied. "No one sees patterns or geographical significance like he does."

Hotch reached for his cell. "I think we need to contact Minneapolis."

--

Dr. Gleason was a middle aged man with a gray fringe of hair around his ears. He was on the short side with a stocky build. "How's Allie," Reid asked the doctor and Josie who had accompanied him in to do the exam.

"She's fine from a neurological standpoint. Her neuro checks were well within normal range," he told Reid. "I don't feel there was any head injury."

Reid heaved a sigh of relief, "Is it okay if I go back in?"

"Certainly," Josie replied.

Reid and Evan entered the room once again. The head of the bed had been raised so Allie sat up a little. "The doctor says everything's okay neurologically so that's good," Reid said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

Allie's lips quivered, she blinked and the tears that had filled her eyes overflowed. "I just wanted to s… say good bye and tell you that I love you." Reid reached to pull her into his arms but she gasped and pulled away.

"What's wrong," Reid asked?

"It hurts," she said putting her hand over the surgical site. "S…sorry, just when I moved like that."

"Don't you dare be sorry, it's my fault. I should have thought. I'll get the nurse to get you something for the pain." Reid squeezed the call bell letting Josie know of Allie's need for some analgesic. When Josie arrived she had with her a syringe half full of a clear fluid that she injected into Allie's IV. Allie said she needed to go to the bathroom and Josie rang for a nurses' aide and asked the two to leave while they took Allie to the bathroom. Reid said he could help her to the bathroom but the nurse wouldn't hear of it.

"We know better how to deal with moving all this IV equipment. I'll let you know when we're done," she said. Reid and Evan were once again relegated to the hallway.

As they waited Garcia got off the elevator and approached the brothers holding on to a piece of paper. "I had to badger the admissions' clerk with my ID to let me hook my laptop up to her printer by telling her it was extremely important FBI business," she said. "Here's the police report," she handed him the paper. "And you're not going to like it!"


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Reid read the report in a matter of seconds. Garcia and Evan watched as his mouth set in a grim line, his face suffused with anger but Garcia noticed another emotion as well. She couldn't put her finger on it but it looked like fear. Garcia was right, Reid thought, he didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. "Blood alcohol of .14, that's way over the legal limit."

"You mean Allie was hit by a drunk driver," Evan confirmed, looking between Reid and Garcia.

"It would appear so babycakes," Garcia told him.

"Can you arrest him or something," Evan asked? He looked at Reid but his brother was just staring at the police report.

"Well," Garcia answered, "They've got him dead to rights. I mean there were witnesses all over the place who saw him hit Allie. He was taken to the hospital right from the scene so they got the blood alcohol result at the time of the accident. There's no way that jerk is getting out of this." She touched Reid's arm as if to reassure him that the drunk driver would be punished.

"There…there just might be." He pulled out his cell, looking very agitated. "I have to make a call. Stay here for Allie," he said as he took off down the corridor leaving Evan and Garcia giving each other baffled looks.

He dialed the number and waited, "Hello," said the voice on the other end.

"Lloyd, it's Spencer," Reid began, "Allie's been in a car accident."

"Oh my God, Spencer tell me she's alright," Allie's father pleaded.

"She's in the hospital but she's going to be okay. I thought you and Joan should know. There's another reason I called. We might have a problem."

--

"Lynch," Rossi ordered, "Check all means of transport to see if Joel Delaney bought a ticket of any kind to Minneapolis."

"Will do, but if he bought like say a bus ticket and paid cash then there'd be no record."

"Yeah, I know it's a long shot but see what you can do. Try facial recognition on bus stations, gas stations, that sort of thing." Rossi ended the call.

"I'm calling the police and our field office in Minneapolis," Hotch informed the others. "We'll get them to keep an eye on Jeff Donovan or put him in protective custody until we find Joel. I'm also putting out an APB."

--

"Hi sweet girl," Garcia said brightly as she and Evan came back into the room after the nurse and the aide had come out and given them the go ahead.

"Where's Spencer," Allie asked looking back and forth between the two of them.

"He just had to make a phone call," Evan told Allie. "How are you feeling now," the boy asked?

"It still hurts but they gave me something for the pain and it's dulled it quite a bit. This whole thing's kind of…of scary." She kept looking at the door. "I wish Spencer was here."

"I'm sure he won't be too long," Garcia assured her just as the door opened and Reid entered with a huge bouquet of flowers.

"I found these at the gift shop," he exclaimed as he brought the flowers to the bed and handed them to Allie. She gazed at the combination of rusty colored zinnias, purple carnations and irises, peach roses and marigolds before a background of mauve lavenders and was sprinkled liberally with baby's breath. "One of the nurses' aides is looking for a vase."

Allie's mouth formed a broad smile. "Honey, they're so beautiful," she said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Thank you," she reached up to touch his face and leaned in to kiss him.

"I'm glad you like them. I wasn't sure if the gift shop would have them," he said brightly but Garcia knew her friend too well. She'd known him since her first days at the bureau when he had mistakenly told Morgan her name was Gomez prompting, when she didn't respond, the first ever 'baby girl'.

She'd seen almost every emotion those beautifully expressive brown eyes had to offer. She knew each look, from the paralyzing fear that he would end up like his mother, to a burning anger at blatant injustice like the kind he'd witnessed in West Bune, Texas; from a dogged determination not to succumb to a world that wanted to beat him down, to a childlike playfulness that delighted in sharing things like physics magic; from an intense pain suffered at the hands of a madman in Georgia that he had overcome by sheer will of mind and strength of heart, to a joyful innocence that refused to be overshadowed by the gruesome things he saw on the job; from a baffling confusion over simple things that most of us take for granted, to the 'eureka' moment that told the team he had finally found the answer to a particularly perplexing problem. Although his voice was bright and upbeat, those eyes that never lied told her that beneath the brightness was an undercurrent of something unpleasant, something he obviously did not want Allie to know.

"Who did you call," Allie asked. "Evan said you went to make a phone call."

"I called your Mom and Dad. I thought I should let them know. I thought if I didn't they'd kill me," he laughed. "You don't want the groom dead before the wedding."

"Wedding!" Evan jumped to his feet. "You two are getting married?"

"Oh sorry," Reid responded, "With all that's gone on since we got back, I'd forgotten we hadn't told you yet. We were going to tell you together."

"That's terrific," Evan threw his arms around his brother, then gingerly around Allie. "Hey, that means I'm gonna have a sister. That is so awesome!"

Becky, a pretty little nurse aide clad in a wine colored scrub uniform with long dark hair displaying reddish tints came into the room with a vase and took Allie's flowers from her and headed to the bathroom to arrange them in some water. Allie showed her ring to Evan and Garcia got a better look than she had that morning when Allie had been so angry. "He asked me in Lake Louise. It was so beautiful."

"So, big bro, did you get down on one knee and everything," Evan snickered.

"Yes I did, I was scared to death and felt like a complete fool. And don't you dare laugh Evan, your day will come."

"It was perfect. It was the happiest moment of my life." Tears started and as she wiped them her hand felt the cuts on her face. "I must be about the worst looking bride to be in history," she remarked.

"You are not, you're beautiful." Reid reassured her.

"Um, honey, I was just up to the bathroom. I saw my face in the mirror. I'm as white as a sheet and I saw all the cuts so don't tell me I'm beautiful."

"Yeah, well, maybe you need your eyes examined," Reid responded causing the group to laugh when Josie opened the door to say they'd have to leave soon so they could get Allie settled for the night. Reid asked Garcia and Evan if he could have a few minutes alone with Allie. They each gave her a quick hug and left the couple alone.

"I…I'm sorry about your SUV," she said.

"That is the very last thing I care about. I'm only concerned about you. Do you remember what happened," he asked quietly?

"I wanted to say good bye and tell you I love you," Allie began. "I knew I hadn't been fair to you and I didn't want you to go away on a case with things like that between us so when Garcia said you were still on the ground, I tried to get to you in time."

His stomach flipped over but he nodded encouragingly, "So you remember the accident?"

"Well, I remember," Allie recalled, "I was just entering the intersection when the light turned yellow so I couldn't stop in time which I was kind of glad about because I was kind of in a hurry. All of a sudden I felt this pain and then nothing."

"Well, we know what happened after that," he told her. "I better get out of here before they send the Gestapo after me." He leaned in and kissed her deeply. "I'll see you in the morning. I love you," he said as he headed for the door.

When he was out in the hallway Garcia said, "Alright out with it, what's got you so worried and it's not Allie's condition?"


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: The code mentioned is not ficticious it is an actual code for the state of Virginia

--

Allie's eyes slowly began to focus; why was she so sleepy? The nurses' aide had been in earlier to help her with her morning care. She had only one IV now as the blood had been stopped after what seemed like the tenth unit but that her nurse, Chris, had assured her was only five. They had taken her vital signs yet again. No wonder she was so tired, she thought, how could you get any sleep in this place when they were always doing things to you. She had a new pump to join the old one that Chris informed her was a PCA, as if that meant anything to her she told him. He'd laughed and told her it stood for Patient Controlled Analgesia. Medication was loaded into the machine and when she felt pain she could push the button and a preset dose would be delivered into her IV. He assured her there was a limit built in and she could never give herself too much. The first time she pushed it she'd been amazed at the result and when she'd pushed it again, the same effect. After pushing it a third time, she'd thought of Spencer and his struggle with Dilaudid and decided not to push it quite so often. As her vision cleared, she saw a man with crutches standing at the end of her bed.

"Who…who are you," she asked, shaking her head to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her.

"Dwayne Nelson, it appears we had an unfortunate meeting yesterday, well unfortunate for you, that is," he said with a smirk from the left side of his mouth.

This must be the man who hit her, Allie thought. He had a lot of nerve smirking after what he'd done and what did he think he was doing, coming on to her. While she sat open mouthed her visitor continued.

"Anyway, I'd be in deep shit if it wasn't for you. My lawyer says I owe you big time," he turned to leave, giving her another of his crooked smiles, "So thanks babe," he threw over his shoulder and was gone.

--

Reid waited in the lobby of the Comfort Inn, where he'd gotten a room for the night. Garcia had wanted to take him home but he'd wanted to be close for Allie. His future in-laws had taken a red eye from Columbus to DC early this morning and should be arriving shortly. He'd sat on the very comfortable blue couch for a while but his edginess would not allow him to sit any longer and for the last few minutes he'd been pacing the room. The desk clerk eyed the man from room 227, dressed in beige cord pants, a beige and brown shirt and a brown cord jacket. He'd asked the man once if there was anything he could do for him but, he checked the name on the computer register, Dr. Reid, had declined.

The glass doors outside finally opened admitting Lloyd and Joan Graham. Joan spotted Reid immediately and hurried over to envelop the young man she already considered a son, in a warm hug. "How's Allie," she asked when she had released him.

"I called early this morning. They said she spent a comfortable night. I told them you were flying in from Ohio and would want to see her before visiting hours," Reid told them.

"Spencer," Lloyd inquired, "What do you know about the accident?"

"We had an argument. I had spoken to a superior on her behalf and she was angry with me over it," Reid explained.

"I know how that can be," Lloyd whispered to his future son-in-law, flicking his thumb toward his wife, "Like mother like daughter."

Reid continued to tell them about the events leading up to Allie taking off in his SUV to try and catch his plane before it left. "She told me she was hurrying," he made quotation marks with his fingers for emphasis, "To try and make the plane before we took off, to say good bye and," his voice cracked, "To tell me she loved me. She was in an intersection when the accident occurred. She'd just entered the intersection when the light turned yellow which she was so happy about when she was hit on the driver's side by a Mazda B2000. The driver had a blood alcohol of .14."

"Oh, that son of a bitch," Joan said harshly. "I hope they've arrested him." Reid raised his eyebrows at Lloyd to ask whether he'd told his wife the possible difficulties with the accident but he shook his head imperceptibly and Reid nodded back in the same fashion. Joan seemed unaware of the silent conversation going on between the two men.

"Uh, not yet, as far as I know," Reid responded.

"Let's get checked in so we can get to the hospital," Lloyd suggested and turned to the front desk.

--

Allie gazed lovingly at the flowers Spencer had gotten for her. She reached up to softly touch the petals when a voice roused her from thoughts of her fiancé. "Excuse me ma'am," the voice said. Allie turned her head to see a man about five foot ten with sandy blond hair cut short. He had a friendly face with direct blue eyes. He wore a police officer's uniform. "I'm Officer Phil Honeycut. I responded to the accident yesterday at the intersection of Mcphillips and Sheridan. How are you feeling this morning ma'am," he asked?

"I've been better but I'm told I'll recover. There may be some lasting complications," Allie answered.

"I'm sorry to hear that ma'am. I have to take your statement about the accident yesterday, okay?"

"Okay," Allie responded. "Would you like to sit down," she indicated a chair.

"Thank you Miss Graham." He sat, taking out his notebook and a pen. "You were traveling west on McPhillips when the accident occurred, correct?"

"Yes, I was on my way to Thompson's Airfield," Allie confirmed.

"Had a plane to catch, did you," the officer laughed.

"Well, not in the strict sense of the word. I was trying to reach my fiancé who was on a plane at the airfield, grounded due to air traffic. I was trying to reach the plane before it took off."

"Aah, so in a bit of a hurry then," he asked?

"Well, yes, I wanted to see my fiancé before he left," Allie explained.

"Is that why you were doing 47 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone?" The friendliness had left his face and his eyes were stone cold.

"No, I wasn't, I wasn't going that fast. I wasn't." She didn't know if she was trying to convince Officer Honeycut or herself.

"Miss Graham, you were photographed and clocked at the intersection, believe me, you were going that fast. But if you don't believe me we can get a court order and get the security tapes from Quantico. It'll have you clocked leaving the base. We know what time you reached the intersection. Simple math will confirm how fast you were going."

"So what happens now, are you going to give me a ticket," Allie asked the officer.

"Miss Graham, this is much more serious than a ticket. You were involved in an accident while speeding."

"But…but he hit me. I realize the light was yellow; I just didn't have time to put on my brakes but he came through the red light and hit me," Allie argued. Suddenly she was not feeling well at all. She pushed the button on her PCA but the drug didn't seem to be having the same effect now.

"You're obviously not aware of article 46.2-823 of the Code of Virginia which states, " he started to read from a paper, "The driver of any vehicle traveling at an unlawful speed shall forfeit any right-of-way which he might otherwise have been entitled to under this article," he finished. "So you see Miss Graham, you forfeited your right to that intersection. You probably couldn't brake in time because you were going too fast. You are totally at fault for this accident!"


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

"My fault…"

"Allie, not one more word," came a voice from the doorway. It was a voice she knew well. She looked up to see her parents standing just inside the door and behind them, Spencer.

"Spencer, he just said…" Allie began.

"I know, I know what he said," Reid looked angrily at Officer Honeycut as he made his way over to the bed and took Allie in his arms. He could feel her trembling through the thin fabric of her hospital gown.

"Allie," Lloyd asked, "Did this officer read you your rights?"

"N…no," his daughter replied.

"I don't have to read her her rights," the officer defended his actions. "I wasn't arresting her and I didn't need her to admit to speeding. We have or can get all the proof we need."

"Well, you're done for now," Lloyd told the man. "If you feel the need to speak to her again, you will call me first." Lloyd handed the officer one of his business cards.

"Just doin' my job folks, no need to get so upset." Officer Honeycut headed for the door.

Reid continued to hold Allie tight. She couldn't seem to stop shaking. She rested her head on his shoulder and started to cry. Joan stepped up to the bed and put a gentle hand on her daughter's back and rubbed tender circles. Allie turned toward the woman and Reid relinquished her to her mother's arms. "What now," Reid asked Lloyd quietly.

"We wait and see what they do. If they're not too heavy handed then we won't need to be."

"N…now I know what that guy meant," Allie said, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"What guy," Lloyd and Reid said together?

"The guy who hit me," Allie responded. "He was here earlier. He's on crutches. He had this…this ugly smirk and he told me he'd have been in big trouble if it wasn't for me. He even said 'thanks babe,' when he left. He gave me the creeps but now I can see why he wanted to say thank you," she finished with sarcastic brightness.

Reid headed for the door. "Where are you going honey," Allie asked, not wanting Spencer to leave?

"I'm going to see a woman about a dog. I won't be long. You can have a visit with your Mom and Dad, okay?" Allie nodded and Reid left the room, taking the elevator down to the main floor and out the front door of the hospital. There he sat on a bench, took out his phone and pressed speed dial.

"Hey sweet boy, how's Allie," Garcia asked from the desk in her office.

"Not so good Garcia, not so good, I need you to get me everything you can on a Dwayne Nelson. Go back to the womb if you have to. I want everything on this guy."

"Who's Dwayne Nelson," the tech asked.

"He's the guy who hit Allie and he's going to get off scot free and he had the nerve to come to her room and rub her nose in it."

"That bastard," Garcia remarked with malice, "I'm on it sweet thing, you'll know him better than he knows himself. Oh, by the way, Joel Delaney did go to Minneapolis. He was going after his brother. The Minneapolis FBI was there, hiding in his home, the brother wore a vest hidden under his shirt so they could catch Joel in the act."

"He turned the gun on himself didn't he," Reid asked when she'd finished.

"Yeah, how did you know?" The tech sounded surprised.

"It was always going to be the outcome. He just didn't finish the last item on his agenda before he died. Let me know what you dig up on Nelson and Garcia, uh, I'm sorry for my tone yesterday, you didn't deserve that."

"Not a problem, think no more about it. I'll get back to you soon," his friend replied.

"Thanks." Reid closed the cell and headed back into the hospital.

--

"What the hell were you thinking or let's face it you weren't thinking were you," said the man who sat behind a rich cherry wood desk spinning an expensive fountain pen between his knobby arthritic fingers. His jet black hair, with the help of Grecian formula, was slicked back from his receding hairline making his facial features more severe. A nervous tick could be seen beating in his left cheek as he glared at the man before him.

"Look, you don't own me okay. Can't a guy go out for a couple of beers without it being earth shattering? Okay, Teddy told me it could have been big trouble but it's not. The chick is taking the fall for the accident so don't sweat it. Lucky for me that little honey was speeding. Do you mind if I sit down. I got a broken leg here." The look the man gave him was scathing, "Okay, I'll stand."

"How do you expect our plan to succeed if we have imbeciles like you running around getting into car accidents and calling attention to themselves?" His mouth set in a grim line and his eyes, so dark they seemed black, blazed as he looked at the man before him. "Get out of my sight." The young man turned, awkwardly maneuvering his crutches, and headed for the door. As his hand reached for the knob, the man's voice came ominously from across the room, "You're wrong Nelson, I do own you."

--

Reid smiled with what he hoped was reassurance and merely nodded at Lloyd's unasked question. He sat on the edge of the bed and took Allie's hands in his. It was impossible to disguise the tears brimming in her eyes and he knew, with the slightest provocation, the dam would break and the flood would begin. She squeezed his hands so tightly he thought circulation would be impaired. "Excuse me," said a voice from the doorway. The group looked up to see a very tall man, at least six foot six and built like a linebacker. He wore navy scrubs His dark brown hair was only slightly shorter than Reid's and his round face featured a trim goatee. His friendly dark eyes took in the tenseness of the situation. "Sorry to intrude but I have to do vital signs and change Allie's dressing," Chris told them.

Lloyd and Joan said they would wait for Spencer in the hallway. Allie continued to maintain a death grip on Reid's hands. "I have to go for a few minutes and let the nurse do his work." Allie nodded, she seemed unable to speak. "I'll be right outside." He withdrew his hands and caressed her cheek. "I love you." He made his way to the door, nodding at Chris as he passed.

Reid relayed to the Grahams that he had Garcia digging into Dwayne Nelson. Reid's cell rang and he ducked into a waiting room to take the call, "Reid."

"Hey man, how are you doing," Morgan asked his friend. "I talked to Garcia and she told me what's going on with Allie. Geez Reid, is there anything we can do?"

"No, thanks Morgan, she's pretty upset about everything but her parents are here so that should help."

"Well just to let you know," Morgan sounded like he was whispering. "Things are a little tense here. Bruce Knowles was up here talking to Hotch, trying to find out what was going on with Allie. I don't know what Hotch told him, if anything, but all I can say is when he headed for the elevator, Allie's boss was some pissed!"


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Spencer Reid was not a political animal. He had never involved himself in that aspect of the FBI, nor did he wish to. He had rarely spoken to any of the higher echelon until Section Chief Erin Strauss had accompanied them to Milwaukee on a case. Of course he knew John but that relationship was never to be acknowledged within the confines of Quantico. There, John was Sir and he was Dr. Reid and they spoke cordially to one another when their paths crossed. When he and Allie had started seeing one another, they had vowed not to let their relationship enter the workplace and for the most part, they had been very successful. It hadn't been too difficult since their paths rarely crossed once they parted in the elevator each morning.

Now, it appeared, Allie's boss was irate. It could be for a number of reasons, Reid pondered. The fact that she had left work in the middle of the day to see her fiancé was bad enough, but, put a car accident coupled with a police charge of speeding while involved in the accident, on top of that and Allie was probably in deep trouble with her superiors. Not to mention the blow up in the conference room, Reid thought, considering all sides of Allie's problem. To many it would be what it was, a woman blowing up at her boyfriend, but to those to whom rank was important and let's face it he thought, the FBI is one of the places where rank is an issue, some would see, instead of Allie blowing up at a boyfriend, technical analyst Graham blowing up at SSA Dr. Reid, a definite breach in protocol.

Had he started all this when he'd crossed the line and gone to bat for Allie with Strauss? The events that followed were like a domino effect from that one act. He couldn't let Allie pay for something that was his fault. She was dealing with too much already with her injuries and the police. She couldn't face disciplinary action at work as well. It was too much. He had to do something to make it better but that would mean crossing that line yet again.

--

He picked up the phone and dialed. "It's me; we have a bit of a problem." He listened to the person on the other end. "Well, Dwayne will be out of commission for a while."

"You know our agenda is time sensitive. Things have to be done at just the right time to get maximum benefit. We'll have to find another way to get the information to our people," the voice replied.

"I know that Dwayne's being in a car accident and breaking his leg was unfortunate. Maybe we can get another member in there to take his place?"

The man on the other end of the phone bristled, "No Nate, that takes time. We carefully built up Dwayne's background. We don't have time to start all over with someone new and how could we be sure the Smithsonian would hire him?"

--

Chris had finished his treatments and had left Allie alone with instructions to ring if she needed anything. What's happened to my life Allie thought as she lay back against her pillows and contemplated the events of the last twenty-four hours? She had been stupid to overreact to Spencer talking to Strauss on her behalf instead of just taking the kudos from the RCMP for himself. He would have done the same for any colleague.

Twenty-four hours ago she had been a happy bride-to-be going to lunch to share her terrific news and now she was laying in the hospital after losing a part of her body and perhaps a part of her future and Spencer's future too for that matter. Suddenly his voice seeped from her memory. She was just waking up after the accident and the surgery. _"I've always been afraid…having kids…might be difficulty… realized how much I wanted it." _Oh God, could she be depriving him of that.

Then there was the police and the speeding, she didn't know what to think of that. Would she get a fine? Would they do something to her license? Then there was Spencer's vehicle, would the insurance cover it if she was driving and at fault? She'd made such a big mess of everything.

--

"Hmm," Garcia exclaimed to herself as she swiveled in her chair and stared at her computer screen through red framed eyeglasses. Her blond hair was pulled back and secured with a stunning hairclip made of many brightly colored beads that Allie had given her on their return from Canada. She loved it. "This is veeery interesting. Applied for a Virginia driver's license five years ago and started a bank account which has amassed a grand total of 1038.42. But, I can't find anything before five years ago. Well well, Mr. Nelson, you've peaked my curiosity. What are you hiding you creep?"

--

Allie was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the footsteps and only realized Spencer was in the room when she heard The Lady in Red. She looked up from her musing as he approached the bed and sat on the edge. "How are you doing," he asked, softly caressing her cheek, letting those long fingers gently glide over her cuts. She thought it would hurt but was surprised when it didn't. His eyes told her she was as beautiful to him as she'd always been. Despite her injuries, her insides still fluttered at his touch.

"I'm sorry," they said together as they looked at the pain in each other's eyes. It was not pain from physical injury or from being emotionally hurt by another. It was the anguish of believing that your actions had caused pain and distress to the one person you loved most.

Reid opened his mouth to speak but Allie put her hand over it. "I…I ruined everything. I s…spoiled the engagement announcement to the team. I blew up at you and then I didn't get to see you before you left and I…I worry you know, when you're gone, that you're in danger and something could happen to you." The tears that had filled her eyes started to slowly meander down her cheeks, their saltiness stinging the fresh cuts on her face. Reid wiped them away with the thumb of his hand that still cupped her cheek. Allie sniffed and continued. "I…I couldn't leave it like that between us. I had to talk to you. I tried your cell but I only got voice mail so I decided to go to you." She sniffed and laughed derisively, "Wrong move Allie girl. I just made a mess of everything. I wrecked your SUV and I don't know what the insurance company will do since I was driving and they say it's my fault. I got you called away from a case. Hotch must be livid. And…and this," she pointed to her abdomen. "What if I can't…"

"Sh, sh," it was Reid's turn to put his hand over her mouth. "You haven't made a mess of anything. First off, the case is solved so you don't have to worry about that and Hotch is concerned, not livid. Secondly, I don't want you to give any thought to the police and insurance companies. Lloyd will take care of all that. Now about the other thing, we just have to wait and see. It's not like they told you it's impossible, just more difficult. You know me and difficult," he smiled somewhat wickedly, "I love a challenge." Allie's tears started to fall again but these tears were completely different. "You gotta stop that. They'll need to give you a whole bag of that stuff," he pointed to her IV, "To replace all the tears you're crying." Allie started to laugh, and then winced at the pain it caused.

Reid took a deep breath, "This is really all my fault anyway," he began. "I shouldn't have said anything to Strauss but it just irked me that I was getting congratulations for a job well done and you were getting nothing. I'm so proud of you and what you did. I didn't realize when I did it, how it would look to you and others. Garcia and Emily explained it to me. If I hadn't done that, none of this would have happened."

Allie's eyes grew large. "Oh no, you are not," she said determinedly, "Blaming yourself for this. I won't have it!"

Reid smiled. There was the feisty woman he loved. "How about we make a deal," he said. Allie looked suspiciously at him but nodded. "We agree not to blame each other or ourselves. This is just a situation, good or bad, that we're in together." Her bottom lip began to quiver. "Oh jeez, not the water works again!'

Allie started to slap him playfully on the shoulder. "When I'm better I'm going to..." Reid waggled his eyebrows. "Oh you're incorrigible."

"Should we seal our deal with a handshake," Reid asked, holding out his hand.

"I'd like to seal it with something else," she said leaning in to him slightly. Reid bent his head to claim Allie's lips. His lips were always so soft and warm, she thought as she gave in to the power of her feelings for this man. She entwined her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened and their tongues danced in a sensual exploration of each other. Reid put his arms around her gingerly, pulling her close, ever cognizant of her injuries and not wishing to intensify her discomfort in any way.

Two people stood in the doorway with a tray of four takeout coffees and a box of doughnuts. "Do you think they'll ever stop," Lloyd whispered to his wife.

"Well eventually," she whispered back. "I mean they'll have to won't they?"

"Do you think we should interrupt or do you think they'd prefer cold coffee," Lloyd wondered.

Lloyd and Joan Graham looked at one another and nodded, "Cold coffee," they said as one.

Chris approached the door with a blood pressure machine and Lloyd said, "You might not want to do that right now. You probably wouldn't get an accurate reading." Lloyd turned Chris from the door.

Joan reached on to the tray, "Do you like coffee," she asked, holding out a cup. "How about a doughnut…"


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Reid strode purposefully down the now familiar hospital corridor to Allie's room carrying an overnight bag with some of Allie's clothes as well as some toiletries. The doctor had decided that Allie was well enough to be discharged. Dr. Nancy Rodgers, Allie's gynecologist, had examined her patient the evening before, declaring that the incision was clean and appeared to be healing nicely. Allie's cuts had improved in just two days and were fading from their earlier bright red to a dark pink. Her IV had been removed last evening and she was ambulating independently albeit more slowly.

The doctor had spoken to the couple at length about the ramifications of Allie's injury and the surgery. Allie had become very tearful as the possible problems involving pregnancy were discussed. "But women have caesareans all the time and their uteruses are cut open. It doesn't affect their ability to have children," Allie had protested. The doctor had nodded sympathetically and reminded Allie that she had not been surgically incised as she would be in an operating theater. Her uterus had been literally ripped by a sharp piece of metal that had kept moving inside her as her vehicle whirled out of control. Allie had burst into tears at this and had sobbed in Reid's arms for many minutes while Dr. Rodgers patiently waited. She had cautioned the couple against trying to conceive too soon. The look on Allie's face told Reid that this was exactly what she had been contemplating. The doctor explained that Allie needed at the very least two months for her uterus to heal to which Allie had finally nodded resignedly.

Reid opened the door to room 309 to find Allie sitting in the room's comfortable armchair, looking out the window which treated one to an excellent view of the parking lot and the street below. "I've been playing a game," she said quietly. "I see people come to the parking lot and I try to guess what kind of car they drive."

"So how's that going," Reid asked, kissing her softly as he squatted down beside her chair, looking at the people in the parking lot.

"Oh, fifty-fifty, I'm not a psychologist or a profiler," she replied, still staring out the window.

"I brought your clothes," he pointed to the bag he'd put on the bed. "Your Mom helped me pick out what would be best. She said to bring something comfortable and not too tight. She's going to be a big help."

"Going to…what…I don't…"

"Uh, your Mom and Dad are going to stay with us for a few days," Reid informed her.

"Mom and Dad…with us…in the apartment?"

"Yeah, well your Dad is going to look after all the business with the police and the insurance company and your Mom can help you out with things."

"Where are you going to be," she asked?

"Well, I have to go back to work and I don't want you left alone now if we have a case," he explained.

"What, you don't think I can look after myself. Don't you trust me anymore?"

"Of course, I trust you, but you just had major surgery and it's going to take a little while before you're back to full strength so your mother suggested that she stay and help you. I thought it was a good idea and you two could start, you know, planning the wedding."

"Wedding!"

--

Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia was never happier than when she was surrounded by her babies. Her screens were full of information and images which, at the moment, all centered around Dwayne Nelson or whatever his real name was. She had used her facial recognition software and found him on the camera file of the First National Bank in Topeka, Kansas. There was no account at that bank held by Dwayne Nelson so the crafty tech had to use her mastery of the computer to zoom in on the withdrawal slip Dwayne Nelson was filling out. Once she had the account number, she searched through the bank's records for the name of the account holder, Ward Morris.

A light tap sounded and her door opened to admit JJ, "Hi Garcia," the blonde beauty said upon entering the room.

"Hey Jaje," Garcia replied, not taking her eyes off the computer screens.

"Who's that," JJ asked as she bent down so her head was level with Garcia's and stared at the computer screen.

"Dwayne Nelson," Garcia told her, "Or maybe not," she added.

JJ narrowed her eyes. "This isn't part of any case that's crossed my desk. Is it part of a consult?"

"Uh, n…no not exactly," the tech responded.

"Garcia," JJ looked suspiciously at her friend.

"Okay, okay, he's the guy who hit Allie and he's going to get away with just a slap on the wrist for impaired driving while our sweet girl is going to take the blame and well, I don't think it's right." Garcia finally took a breath.

"Does Hotch know about this," JJ asked?

"No, I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him yet."

"Uh huh," JJ nodded. "Well you know what a stickler Hotch is for the rules so just be careful, okay." JJ turned and headed out the door.

After the door had closed, Garcia looked at her screens, "Oh yeah," she said, "A real stickler for the rules." She deepened her voice to mimic the strict Hotch. "Get Reid a seat on that plane. Bump someone if you have to. Make them disappear." She stared at the screen and her mouth gaped. "Make them disappear."

--

"Uh, yeah, the wedding, remember, that big ceremony we're going to have where you wear a white dress and I wear whatever you tell me to; we say we do and then you're my wife and I'm your husband and we have a big party and eat cake."

"Yes, I remember, I just don't know. Maybe we should wait."

"Wait," Reid shook his head. "Wait for what?"

"Till we know whether I can have a baby. If I can't then I don't want you to feel you're stuck with me," Allie looked at her hands that rested on her lap and fiddled with her hospital gown.

"Stuck with you, you think I'd feel stuck with you? Where did that come from? I love you."

"I know that and I love you more than anyone else in this world. I heard what you said the other night about realizing how much you wanted it, a child I mean, but what if it turns out that I can't, then you'll be deprived of one of the best things in life because of my stupidity. You've already been deprived of too much. I don't want to add to it. I don't want to do that to you."

"With you Allie," he put his finger under her chin and lifted her head so they looked in each other's eyes. "I want children with you, not any other woman but if it's not to be, I'd rather be childless with you than have ten kids with somebody else."

Reid could see the tears glistening in the brown eyes he loved. "Are you sure," Allie asked?

"Never been surer of anything in my life," he replied. "That doesn't mean I won't do whatever's necessary to have children with you. We need to do everything the doctor said and not try too soon, as much as I know you want to."

"Does that bother you, that I want to try as soon as possible?"

Reid giggled, "Surprisingly, no!"

--

The life of Ward Morris filled the screens in front of Garcia. He was eighty-three and resided at the Hillcrest Nursing Home in Topeka. Vital statistics said he was the widower of Alice Morris who succumbed to cancer after a marriage of fifty-two years. He had been a carpenter in his working life but was now in the throes of Alzheimer's disease. He had had one son, Alex who, with his wife Ann, had perished in an electrical fire in their home twenty-four years ago. The couple's young son Keith had been having a sleepover at his grandparent's home and was therefore spared from the fire. Keith was then raised by Ward and Alice.

Garcia looked for information on Keith Morris but could find no address, bank accounts, driver's license or anything to show that Keith Morris existed. She finally went through the yearbooks of the high schools in Topeka and at Ridgeway High School found the twelfth grade picture of Keith Morris. The face that looked back at her was a younger version of Dwayne Nelson.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Reid's cell rang as Allie was getting dressed. He glanced at the call display, "It's Garcia," he announced.

Allie inclined her head toward the door. "You better go take it, I'm fine."

Reid headed out the door, answered the call and then noticed the glare of the nurses. "Garcia, I'll call you right back. The nurses are giving me the evil eye." Reid closed his phone striding toward the elevator. He rode the car to the main floor and walked out the front door to the bench he had used before. He hit speed dial, "Hi Garcia."

"Hey sweet thing, how's our girl?"

"She's being discharged this morning. Is that why you called," Reid asked?

"Yes and no," the perky tech replied. "I've been digging into your guy. Then JJ came in and wondered if Hotch knew and suspected he wouldn't be pleased."

"She's right Garcia," Reid squinted against the sun's brilliance on the cloudless Virginia morning. The branches of the trees on the hospital grounds swayed gently in the breeze, their leaves rustling softly as they fluttered. "Maybe you should give it up. I don't want you to get in trouble over this."

"Normally, I would agree with you my gorgeous junior G man," she told the young profiler, "But I think Dwayne Nelson is up to something. That's not his real name by the way."

Reid's mouth gaped open, "What do you mean you think he's up to something? It's not his real name, are you sure?' He heard Garcia's tongue click and quickly added, "Of course you're sure, lost my head there for a moment."

Garcia chuckled, "I'll forgive you this time. Okay, I've looked into Dwayne Nelson and can find no record of him beyond five years ago. I got him through facial recognition in a bank in Topeka, Kansas withdrawing from the account of his paternal grandfather Ward Morris. He's the POA or more specifically Keith Morris is. I can't find anything for Keith Morris in the last five years. I found a high school picture and Keith Morris is Dwayne Nelson. Couldn't find any legal change of name but every piece of info on Dwayne," she emphasized the next word, "Appears official. Whoever made a false identity for Dwayne Nelson did a very good job and that smacks of something illegal. I'm still looking into Keith Morris. Do you want me to continue?"

"Wow Garcia, I think you better but only if you're comfortable with it. I don't want you getting into trouble with Hotch on my account."

"Well babycakes, I'll be careful. You go take care of Allie; I'll let you know what I find out. Bye for now."

"Bye Garcia," Reid closed his phone and headed back into the hospital. Garcia's news was indeed interesting, he thought.

--

Allie was sitting on the black leather couch in their living room. Her feet were up on the sofa and she was covered from the waist down by the sunburst quilt they'd bought in Canada. Joan hovered over her, setting a drink, the phone, the remote control and her pain medication within her reach. She fluffed pillows and continually asked her daughter if there was anything she needed.

"No Mom, I'm fine," she said as Reid came out of the bedroom with the book she'd been reading before her accident. "You guys don't have to wait on me, really."

"But the nurse sa…" Reid began as a buzz sounded from the intercom by the door. He pressed the button asking who it was and his future father-in-law's voice came through the speaker. Reid pushed the button to allow Lloyd access to the building. Allie's father knocked on the door a few minutes later.

Lloyd entered the room, going straight to his daughter. She suddenly looked so small, he thought, like she was his little girl again, lying on the couch when she was home from school with measles. He wanted to put his arms around her now, like he had then, and protect her from the world. But she was not his little girl anymore. She had given herself to the man who still stood by the door. He was a good man and Lloyd trusted his daughter's decision, even though he still wanted to hold on to her. He leaned over the back of the sofa and planted a gentle but affectionate kiss on her injured cheek. "How's my girl," he asked like he had when she was a child.

"What happened," she asked, aware that her father had just come from seeing the police.

"You don't have to worry about any of that right now," Joan interjected, trying to take her daughter's mind off her troubles.

"Yes, I do," Allie replied emphatically as she slowly swung her legs around so her feet rested on the floor, guarding her surgical site with her hands as she did it. The others noticed how she winced in pain but said nothing. She patted the seat beside her for her father to sit down.

"You'll probably have to pay a fairly stiff fine. Since this is your first offence, they won't suspend your license but you may be on probation. You'll have to attend safe driving classes. As far as the insurance, you won't have to pay compensatory damages to the other driver as it was ruled that there was contributory negligence on his part." He stopped for a moment, allowing what he'd told her to sink in. "You'll have to go to traffic court and since I'm handling your case and I'm from out of state, they've added it to the next traffic court docket," he stopped again and sighed heavily, "Which is tomorrow."

"Good," Allie said, nodding her head, "Good, let's get it over with." She looked across the room at Spencer. "I have a wedding to plan."

--

Reid was standing in Garcia's office looking at driver's license photo of Dwayne Nelson or Keith Morris, whatever his name was. He didn't like the look of the guy that had hit Allie and had then come to her room to rub salt in her wounds. His dark blond hair fell over his forehead in flirty waves. The deep blue eyes were arrogant and there was slight evidence of the smirk that Allie had mentioned. Garcia was going through her findings. "Keith had some trouble with the IRS a few years ago when he came into the sizeable inheritance that had been held in trust for him since his parents' deaths. There had been a settlement from the electrical contractor who'd wired the house and used substandard materials. There's a record of a purchase of a rather expensive car and a lot of money got spent although I can't find a record of any purchases. Anyway, he owed the IRS a big chunk of money. They took the car and all of the money that was left. Keith protested and joined a group called the Coalition for Fair Taxation. They fight for the rights of the little guy against the IRS. A couple of years after he joined the Coalition, Keith disappears and Dwayne emerges. Why, I have no idea. What I do know is that although there's not much money in Dwayne's bank account, he's employed as a guide at the Smithsonian by the way, his grandfather with Alzheimer's has a bank account that keeps growing regularly by fifty thousand dollar increments. Dwayne or Keith has control of that account."

"The Coalition for Fair Taxation," Reid began, pacing behind Garcia, "Is a legitimate group and they have never been involved in any illegal activities that I'm aware of. There have been some splinter groups that have spun off from the coalition and they are more covert and more militant, Alliance of Anarchistic Americans, Freedom Front, and Citizens Against Control, for example. Somebody is paying Dwayne or Keith a lot of money but through his grandfather who, because he is inflicted with Alzheimer's disease, would have no idea that he was being used as a conduit for this money which by the very nature of the action must be illegal." He continued to pace silently for a few minutes and then he bent behind Garcia and looked at the image on the screen. "Firstly, you're involved in something illegal and I'm going to find out what that is. Secondly, you drove through a red light while drunk and hit Allie and I take that personally and thirdly you're using a family member who has lost his mind for your own nefarious purposes and I take that very personally!" Reid's cell phone rang and he glanced at the call display before answering, "Hey Evan, what's up?"

"Spencer, I have to talk to you about something really important!"


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: See chaapter 1

--

"What, Evan are you alright," Reid asked his brother?

"Yeah, I'm okay. There's nothing wrong with me," the boy put emphasis on the last word.

"Is it your Mom? Is something wrong with Janice?" Reid attempted to get to the important reason for the call.

"No, it's Bethany," his brother replied.

Damn, Reid thought, I don't need teen angst right now. With Allie and work and Dwayne or whatever his name was, I have too much on my plate. His eyes went to the ceiling and he sighed. "What about Bethany," he asked?

"She's worried because one of her friends and another girl have disappeared," Evan reported to his brother.

"Disappeared?" Reid clarified. "What do you mean, disappeared?" Garcia's eyes widened as she listened to Reid's end of the conversation.

"Gone, here one day and then gone. She didn't take anything with her, she just vanished."

"Have the police been notified," Reid asked?

"Yeah, they aren't doing much. They're treating it as a runaway. Bethany thought it was just Cara, Cara McCall, that's her name. Then when she was at dance class, one of the girls told her a friend of hers had gone missing as well. I don't think the cops are even looking for them."

"Evan, you don't know that."

"Well, I wondered if there was something you could do." Reid could hear the pleading tone in Evan's voice. "Do you think you could look into it?"

"Evan, you know we have to be called in. I can't just barge into a police investigation," the older Reid explained.

"What if they were taken across state lines? You could get involved then couldn't you?" The teen continued to plead his case.

Reid gritted his teeth. After his involvement in the case of the murdered woman on their camping trip and the school project he'd done, Evan knew far too much about FBI procedure. "We don't know if that's happened, do we," Reid asked?

"No," the boy sounded dejected.

"Has Bethany spoken to her father? He's apt to have more influence than I would," Reid suggested.

"No, she said he's been too busy. I guess there's some big vote coming up about increasing corporate taxes or something and Bethany said that Senator Cramer is being hounded by lobbyists because he's an Independent and doesn't have to vote a party line. He could be the tie breaker and he's getting a lot of attention for somebody who doesn't make waves. Bethany said he's no Jessie Ventura, whoever that is," Evan added.

Reid laughed. He could understand how Senator Neil Cramer, a quiet soft spoken economics professor from Minnesota who worked tirelessly for the people of his state, would feel overshadowed by the colorful former governor. He had noticed that the senator was getting mentioned more frequently on the news and on the Sunday morning political panels by the likes of Wolf Blitzer and Chris Matthews as the date for the vote that could greatly affect the economy, neared. He could also understand why Bethany had not brought her concerns up with her father.

"Okay, I'll call and ask, that's all I can do unless we get called in. What's the other girl's name," he asked and wrote down the name Evan told him.

"Will you call me and let me know what's going on," Evan asked.

"No, I can't give you information on an ongoing police investigation. They may not tell me anything. I'm relying on professional courtesy."

"Maybe me and Bethany and the guys could go around Cara's hangouts and ask questions," Evan suggested. "We might be able to find out something that other kids don't want to tell the cops."

"No, no Evan, you are not to do that, do you hear me. Evan are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Okay, okay, I'll leave it up to you," the boy said resignedly.

"Okay, I'll call you later," Reid told his brother.

He ended the call and turned to Garcia who was already typing the names of Cara McCall and Tammy Schaeffer into her computers. Her fingers continued to fly over the keyboard and suddenly the pictures of two teenage girls appeared on the screen. They were both fourteen with blue eyes and long blond hair.

"Uh Reid," Garcia paused, "What are the chances that two girls who look so much alike could run away at the same time?"

"Not good Garcia," the young profiler replied, "Not good at all."

--

He sat on the park bench and watched the children frolic on the grass, using up some of what seemed like an endless store of energy while ever vigilant mothers kept a watchful eye on their children as they chatted with each other. As he gazed at the playful youngsters, he thought of his grandchildren. Everything he did was for their future, he told himself. He reached into a paper bag sitting on the bench beside him and pulled out a take-out hamburger. His navy Armani suit seemed out of place on the recently painted bright yellow bench but to the people in the park he appeared to be a businessman getting away from the stresses of the office for a lunch break.

A man in a grey track suit jogged up to the tree beside the bench and bent over, resting his hands on his knees, attempting to catch his breath. His eyes were hidden behind sun glasses and his dark hair, with some reddish tints revealed by the early afternoon sun, clung to his head, wet with perspiration. He pulled a bottle of water from the holder on the belt around his waist which also held an I Pod and a cell phone. He moved over to the bench, still breathing hard and sat down beside Nathaniel Bickerton.

"You got the girls with no problem," he asked the man.

"You know me Nate, I do the job. I'm not Dwayne," the man answered.

"No one suspects anything," the older man asked.

"Hell no, our man at the police precinct says they're still focusing on the parents, like they always do in these cases."

"Good," Bickerton nodded, wiping his mouth with his paper napkin after taking another bite of his burger, "Good."

"I saw the senator doing a sound bite on the news last night," the younger man said, "Seems he still hasn't made up his mind how he's voting. He said he has to consider," he made quotation marks with his fingers, "How a corporate tax increase would affect the good people of Minnesota. He stressed that although it would bring in more revenue, it could also be offset by an increase in inflation and unemployment. I don't think we can count on him voting our way. I think we have to go ahead Nate."

"Unfortunately, I think you're right. Everyone will think it's just another pretty blond haired teen gone missing but Freedom Front will finally have the leverage it needs to control an important vote. But to get that leverage, we need to get Bethany Cramer!"

--

Reid and Garcia entered the Smithsonian. So far it had been a totally wasted afternoon. Well not entirely. He had completed two consults and felt he had been of some help to the detectives. He'd spoken to the metro PD but wasn't able to get any answers, not that they minded sharing with him, they just didn't have anything to tell. There was no evidence of foul play. They had thoroughly checked out both sets of parents. No one had seen anything. Amber alerts had received no constructive responses. Hopefully this visit would be more informative.

Garcia recalled the last time she'd been here with Gideon when they were trying to apprehend Frank Breitkopf. That had been such a stressful time, she'd been unable to enjoy any of the beauty that surrounded her. Maureen Glover met them and they showed her their credentials. They told her they were here to inquire about Dwayne Nelson. Glover found his employee record. "Dwayne has been with us for four years. He mostly directs visitors to what they'd most like to see. He hands out pamphlets," she pointed to two piles of pamphlets. Garcia politely took one off one pile and Reid took one off the other. "He answers questions, that sort of thing. He's never had any problem on the job," Glover added, "Well until he recently broke his leg in a car accident. Why are you asking about him?"

"It's part of an ongoing investigation, we're not at liberty to say," Reid replied. "Thank you for your time Ms. Glover." The pair exited the museum.

"Well that was a big waste of time," Garcia said, climbing into Reid's rented SUV and putting her pamphlet on the consul. Reid did likewise.

--

"Is your Mom picking you up," Evan asked Bethany as they walked down the hallway.

"No, Mom's in Minneapolis, making sure everything is running smoothly at the constituency office.

"My Mom can drive you home," Evan told her.

"No, I need to read a reference book in the library that can't be removed. I need it for the English test tomorrow. Thanks anyway," she smiled at Evan.

"I'll wait for you then," Evan insisted.

"No, you have to go get your hair cut remember," she touched the locks that were getting almost as long as his brother's. "I love it when you get your hair cut."

The boy turned the Reid red and looked at the floor. "Who's going to pick you up then, your Dad."

"One of his assistants was supposed to but I told him that I was staying late." She squeezed his hand and turned and headed for the library. "I'll just take the bus."


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Reid and Garcia drove back to Quantico so Garcia could retrieve Esther. "What do you think of all this sweet pea," she asked as they made their way through rush hour traffic.

"I don't know what to think. It's obvious Dwayne's up to something with someone who's paying him a lot of money but it hasn't seemed to affect his work. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy would it?"

"Well sweet thing, go home and spend the evening with your fiancé…"

"And her parents," Reid interjected.

"And," Garcia continued as though Reid hadn't spoken, "Try to get your mind off all this stuff."

"I don't know if that's possible, Allie's got traffic court in the morning, there's this Dwayne thing and now Evan thinks teenage girls are going missing. Things were less complicated when…" he stopped and glanced down, rather embarrassed.

"When you didn't have any love in your life," his friend finished for him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Reid nodded. "Would you trade then for now?"

"Never," Reid replied emphatically.

--

Reid opened the door to the apartment and was welcomed with the most delicious aroma. The couch where Allie had been lying now held Lloyd who appeared to be in the midst of a late afternoon/early evening nap. Reid dropped his messenger bag by a small oak table with a glass top that sat just inside the door where he set his keys and the pamphlets from the Smithsonian. He then headed for the kitchen and the sound of voices. Allie was seated at the small round kitchen table cutting vegetables for a salad while Joan stood at the stainless steel cook top whirling a wooden spoon inside a large pot that was responsible for some of the olfactory delight.

"Hi," he said going over to Allie and crouching down beside her chair. "What are you doing? You should be resting not cooking dinner."

Allie leaned over gingerly and kissed Reid softly. "Does it look like I'm cooking dinner with Betty Crocker over there," she pointed with her very sharp knife to her mother, "Wielding that wicked wooden spoon?"

"How come you're not resting," he asked, grabbing a carrot from her supply of vegetables and chomping down on it, crunching loudly.

"I couldn't stay there for one more minute. I had to do something or I'd go crazy so Mom sat me here and brought everything to me. Nothing strenuous, see," she said as she chopped some celery.

"Your Dad doesn't seem to have that problem, I notice," Reid raised his eyebrows and inclined his head toward the living room.

"I heard that," a voice mumbled from the living room causing Reid to choke on his carrot. In his fit of coughing he managed to bang his head on the kitchen table at which the Graham women erupted into gales of uproarious laughter. Allie winced and pressed her hands on her suture line like the nurses had shown her but she didn't stop laughing.

Reid stood up to his full height and squeaked indignantly, "Well, I guess I'll go take a shower," before turning on his heels and heading out the door.

He returned a few minutes later to find Lloyd had been put to work setting the table. "You should have kept your mouth shut and pretended you were sleeping," Reid whispered as he took some plates off the tray Lloyd had brought to the table and began to distribute them.

"Naw, she would have woken me anyway," Lloyd whispered back.

"I heard that," Joan's voice wafted from the kitchen.

"Jeez," Reid said, "What is it with you people!"

An hour later after a meal of salad, Joan's rich and hearty beef stew and freshly baked garlic bread, Reid was helping Joan load the dishwasher. Allie had once again taken possession of her place on the couch and was trying not to think of tomorrow's appearance in traffic court. Lloyd sat in the armchair watching the latest news on CNN.

A reporter was interviewing Senator Cramer from Minnesota on his views in the upcoming vote that would substantially increase corporate taxes. Cramer maintained there were many facets of this bill to consider before he voted and as of yet his mind was not made up as to what was best for Minnesotans and the rest of the country.

Allie was explaining to her father that Senator Cramer was the father of Spencer's younger brother Evan's little girlfriend, Bethany. She was telling him how Bethany had had a huge crush on Spencer for about a week. "Oh Dad, he was so clueless!"

"I heard that," Reid said entering the living room just as the downstairs buzzer sounded. He walked over to the intercom asking who it was.

"Hey man," he heard Morgan's voice. "Let us in, I'm stuck down here with three women. I need to get in a room with more testosterone."

"More estrogen too," Reid whispered as he pushed the button.

A few minutes later the doorbell sounded and Reid answered it to find Garcia, JJ, Prentiss and Morgan in the hallway. They walked past him like he was not standing there holding the door open and made a beeline for the couch and Allie. Morgan bent and gave her an affectionate hug and a brief peck on the cheek but was quickly pushed out of the way by Garcia who laid a lovely assortment of blooms on Allie's lap, hugging her warmly. "It's good to see you home."

"Thanks Garcia, they're so beautiful," she sniffed the flowers. "Mom will you…" Joan took the bouquet from her daughter and carried them off to the kitchen.

"I'm glad you're okay, you really scared this guy," Emily hugged Allie as she flicked her thumb at Reid. "You should have seen his face when he took the call." She handed Allie a gift bag.

"Thanks Emily," Allie looked in the bag, "Puzzle books, an ever sharp pencil, herbal tea and," she pulled out a box and her eyes lit up, "Chocolate." She and Emily high fived each other.

JJ hugged her next and handed her another gift bag. Allie removed the tissue paper and her eyes lit up at the newest novel by Mary Higgins Clark. "Oh JJ, I love you, thanks."

"So," Reid backhanded Morgan in the stomach, "Where's your gift?"

Morgan opened his arms, "Hey, you wound me man. Am I not gift enough," eliciting groans and rolled eyes from his teammates?

--

She hurried out of the school. She'd stayed longer than she thought but she had to make sure she understood the writer's intent for the test Mrs. Hillman had sprung on them for tomorrow. She figured that she should be just in time to catch the bus as she stopped by the bus stop sign, unless of course it had been early for the first time since recorded history. She was digging in her book bag for her bus pass when a male voice behind her said, "Hello Bethany."


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

There was a sharp intake of breath as Bethany whirled around, her book bag falling to the ground with a heavy thud in the process. "Oh Sheldon," Bethany exclaimed as her hand went to her chest and her eyes filled with relief, "You scared the living daylights out of me!"

"I'm sorry Bethany, I've been trying to get in touch with you to find out when I should pick you up but I was getting no answer on your cell so I thought I'd just come by." The twenty-nine year old assistant to Senator Cramer stood six feet tall with dark brown hair and grey eyes. Dressed in a pair of black dockers, a grey and white polo shirt and a grey blazer with black patches on the elbows, he projected an air of casual professionalism.

Bethany eyed her father's assistant, "Oh yeah, sorry about that. We have to turn our cell phones off in the library. I guess I forgot to turn it back on when I left." She shrugged her shoulders apologetically.

"No harm done," he said, bending down to retrieve her book bag. "Are you ready to go home now?"

Bethany nodded and followed Sheldon to his car.

--

"So Allie, have you decided what kind of wedding you want yet," Garcia asked in an attempt to keep Allie's spirits up and to stop her from dwelling on tomorrow's traffic court appearance. Reid knew that this impromptu visit had been Garcia's idea and he loved her for it.

"N…no, I haven't really had a lot of time to think about it," Allie told them.

"Well get with it sweet girl. Don't you know that your fiancé is a hot dude? You want to get that ring on his finger and stake your claim."

"Stake your claim, oh Reid man, you are in real trouble now, I can see the old ball and chain in your future," Morgan exclaimed.

"I'm willing to risk it," Reid replied.

"Evan sure was happy to hear about the engagement," Garcia told the others. "He's so excited to be getting a sister."

"How's Evan doing anyway," JJ inquired. "We haven't seen him for a while."

"I talked to him this morning. He's concerned about some teenage girls in the area going missing." Reid went on to explain about his brother's call and how that had led him to contact the DC police.

"So, do they feel they're just runaways," JJ asked.

"They did at first," Reid told them, "But I think now they've come to the realization that it's something else. So now they're taking the first approach in these cases…"

"The parents," Prentiss stated, knowing it was standard procedure with any missing child.

Reid nodded as Morgan interjected, "Only in this situation, with two girls from different schools going missing, it's not likely that two sets of parents would be involved in the exact same thing at the exact same time."

"Especially since the girls look so much alike," Garcia added.

"Yeah, it looks like he's got a type. Fourteen years old, long blonde hair and blue eyes," Emily proposed.

JJ glanced at Reid and saw the expression that the team had come to associate with their genius's mind working overtime. "What have you been thinking Reid?"

"Okay, the first thing that crossed my mind was a prostitution ring but then why just fourteen year old blondes. Then I thought of something else that I don't even want to think about," Reid replied.

"What's that sweet cheeks," the computer tech asked.

"Well, Emily would probably know more about this than I would because she lived in that part of the world when her parents had posts in the Middle East." Reid looked a the brunette agent.

"Reid, you're not thinking of white slavery," Emily asked.

"I don't know, maybe I'm nuts. I hope I'm wrong but I just can't get it off my mind that these girls are being chosen for their looks. If it's a prostitution ring they wouldn't care if they were blonde or some other hair color. If it's a serial and he's got a thing for blondes, he'd take one and do his sick deed, dispose of her and get another. He wouldn't take two at the same time would he," Reid asked.

"I guess that depends on his fantasy. It could involve two at once although I admit it's not likely," Morgan responded.

"What about the white slavery Emily," JJ asked.

"Reid's right, it does go on. The men over there want women that are different from what they're used to," Emily explained. "They aren't interested in brunettes since most of the women over there are brunette. They're mainly interested in blondes and redheads. They do like them young, from fourteen to eighteen, so they're easier to mold and they'll probably be less likely to run. I hope you're wrong too Reid because once they're over there, it's almost impossible to get them out."

"Do you really think that's a possibility," Garcia enquired.

"Anything's possible, I guess," Emily replied, adding, "Human trafficking is a big problem these days. Whoever took them wants this certain type for a reason. I hope DC asks for our input, I'm really interested in this."

Reid noticed Allie's eyelids were drooping and she seemed to be having a hard time staying awake. "Guys, I think the party's over. I should get Allie to bed. She needs to rest."

"No," Allie protested, "I'm good honey, really."

"Sure you are, that's why you're falling asleep." His teammates got up and said their goodbyes to Allie and her parents and made their way to the door where Reid thanked them and let them out.

"You didn't have to do that, I'm okay," Allie protested again but, Reid felt, less vehemently.

"Come on let's get you to bed." Reid helped her to stand on wobbly legs, rejecting Joan's offer of help with, "No thanks, I got it." He grabbed her pain medication before leading her to their bedroom.

Once he had her sitting on the bed, he went to her drawer for some nightclothes and pulled out what he called her granny nightgown, a flannel garment in a pink floral with ruffles at the high neckline, the end of the long sleeves and the bottom of the floor length skirt. He had laughed the first time she'd worn it but he soon realized it was one of the most comfortable garments she owned. She rarely wore it when he was home unless it was during her period when he knew she was not interested in sex or if she'd had an extremely bad day. She seemed to take comfort in its soft warmth. He brought the nightgown to her and she giggled, "Boy, you must be positive you're not getting any to bring this out."

"Hey, I'll have you know," he responded, lacing his hands together and cracking his knuckles, "That Spencer the Magnificent, has been known, on occasion, to be very nimble at getting you out of that," he pointed to the garment in question. Allie smiled at a memory.

He started to help her undress when she said, "I can do it myself, you know."

"I know that," Reid responded with a smirk. "But we both like it better when I do it." Again Allie smiled as he worked on the buttons of her shirt.

--

"I thought we had her but then Sheldon Weir showed up to take her home," he told Nathaniel Bickerton.

His boss replied tersely, "Okay we're running out of time. The vote is in two days and we need to get that girl. If we have to hurt whoever's with her, so be it."


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Reid awoke from a fitful sleep. Allie had tossed and turned during the night but had denied pain when he'd asked. He knew the events slated for today were weighing on her.

Allie got up slowly, covering her dressing with plastic wrap and went for a shower, refusing Reid's or her mother's offer of help. She took great care with her makeup. Her cuts, although fading, were still visible. She dressed in a blue pantsuit with a white silk blouse and flat black shoes.

Joan had made coffee and had bacon, eggs and toast on the go when Allie entered the kitchen. Joan was dressed in a green pantsuit that complimented her red hair beautifully. "Hi honey, you're just in time for breakfast."

"No breakfast for me Mom, thanks anyway. Where are you going this morning," she pointed to her mother's attire.

"Well," Joan answered in surprise, "To court with you dear, we all are," she pointed to Lloyd and Spencer, who had just entered the room.

"No," Allie said adamantly. "No, I don't want you there, either of you," her look took in Spencer and her mother.

"Of course we're going to be there," the pair said in unison.

"No," Allie's eyes started to water. "I don't want you there, please!"

"Okay honey," Joan went to her daughter. "Calm down. Why don't you want Spencer and me to be there for you? We're your family."

"I know that Mom," Allie took her mother's hands in both of hers. "And I appreciate it, really! But this will not be my proudest moment and I'd just rather you didn't see it." She turned her head to include Reid.

Reid crouched down in front of her. "Do you think I only want to be there for the good times?"

"No," she exclaimed, "Oh God, that's not it at all. I know you'll be there for me no matter what, but I've made such a mess of so many things and I took you away from a case and I don't want to take you away from work again. I think I'm already in big trouble at the bureau. Please tell me you understand."

"Okay, we'll do it your way," he said, taking her hands in his and bringing them to his lips.

"Thank you for understanding," Allie replied. She sniffed. "So do I smell coffee?"

--

Reid was pacing back and forth in his living room looking at his watch every few minutes while Joan flipped idly through a magazine she had no interest in. She eyed her future son-in-law. She could see the tension in his face and in his stance as he paced the room.

"She's going to be alright, you know. She's strong," Joan reminded him.

"Oh, believe me, I know that. She's been there for me more times than I can recall and the one time I want to be there for her, she won't let me," Reid responded. "What kind of marriage are we going to have if I can only take and never give?"

"Uh, have you forgotten Lancaster? My baby might be dead right now if it wasn't for you." She waved him over to the couch. "Will you stop that pacing and come over here and sit down."

Reid did as he was asked, looking like an errant schoolboy, sitting stiffly beside Joan. "I don't bite you know," she said with a smirk. She fingered the quilt Allie had gotten on their vacation. It seemed like such a long time ago, Reid thought. "This is nice. Allie told me she wanted to get it for your mother but you talked her into something else." Reid nodded. "So tell me about her, your mother."

Reid looked completely taken aback. People knew his mother was in a mental institution because she was schizophrenic and most said as little as possible about her. They might ask how she was but never wanted to know about her. "She's in Bennington, it's a sanitarium in Las Vegas. She has schizophrenia," Reid told her.

"Yes Spencer, I know that," Joan said patiently. "I could say I was in the hospital because I had pneumonia. Would that give you any indication about me as a person? What's she like, your mother," Joan asked again?

"She, uh, she was a professor of 15th century literature," Reid began. "She's tall and slim like me. When I was a kid my mom had long blonde hair. I thought she was the prettiest mom ever." Reid looked embarrassed at this disclosure.

"Uh huh," Joan nodded encouragingly. "So, very intelligent and pretty. What's your first memory of her?"

Reid thought for a moment. No one had ever asked him that. Finally he said, "Her reading to me. She loved reading." He waved his hand to the massive overflowing bookcases. "I come by it honestly, I guess." He was quiet for a few moments more. "I loved it when she read to me. Even when I was old enough to read books like Proust myself, I was enchanted when she read it to me." He gave a little laugh. "That sounds really bad doesn't it? Hardly a typical child, was I?"

"Oh, I don't know about that," Joan replied, touching him lightly on the shoulder. She was prepared for him pulling away at the closeness but he didn't. "Children will adapt to what a parent can do so they can spend time with them. If your mother had been in a wheelchair, you might have ended up enjoying board games. Your mother liked to read and when she read to you, you developed a closeness to her. A child striving to develop a closeness to a parent, there's nothing more typical than that."

"I never thought of it that way," Reid admitted. "I just always thought of how I was different from the other kids and that's why they…"

"Bullied you," Joan responded. "But you know that it wasn't something lacking in you. It was something lacking in them. What was the worst thing that ever happened," she asked, trying to gauge the kind of bullying Spencer had gone through.

Reid told her about a time the football team had stripped him naked and tied him to a goal post with the whole school watching. Joan's lips trembled and her hand went to her mouth as she fought back tears. She couldn't cry now. Later, she told herself, later she would cry a river for the indignities Spencer had suffered as a child. Right now, he needed her strength. "What did your mother say," she asked?

"I never told her," the young man replied. "She was having one of her episodes. She didn't even realize I was late. In her condition, she wouldn't have been able to do anything about it anyway. I knew that. I just wanted…"

"This," he heard Joan say and Reid turned to see Allie's mother with her arms open. She flicked her hands in the come on gesture and Reid found himself leaning into those open arms. The arms closed around him, rocking him gently. Tears stung his eyes and slowly one fell and then another and soon the tap that had been closed for so long was open wide. He felt a soft kiss on the top of his head as Joan continued to rock him. "It's okay baby. Let it out. Mama's got ya."

--

When Lloyd and Allie arrived back at the apartment, they found Reid sitting on the couch, sketching on a sketch pad while Joan was sitting in the armchair reading aloud from To Kill a Mockingbird, one of her favorite novels. Father and daughter surveyed the strange sight. Allie looked weary from the experience but relieved it was over.

"How did it go," Reid and Joan said together.

"I have to pay a stiff fine and attend safe driving classes. I get a bunch of demerits on my license," Allie told them, walking slowly to the couch and sitting down.

"It could have been worse," Lloyd added.

"What are these," Allie asked reaching for some pamphlets on the coffee table.

"Oh, Spencer got those at the Smithsonian when he was there for a case. I was looking at them, thinking Lloyd and I should go see some of the exhibits."

"How come you're not at work," Allie asked Reid.

"I uh, wanted to make sure you were okay," he responded.

"Honey, I'm fine, please go to work. I'm fine really," Allie insisted

"Okay," Reid stood and bent to kiss her goodbye. "Call me if you need me."

"I'm fine," Allie said going back to perusing the pamphlet.

--

"Is everything ready," Bickerton asked.

"Yeah, everyone's waiting for orders once we get the final target. It's a damn good thing Dwayne got the pamphlets distributed before he broke his leg."

.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

"That was a disaster," Bethany lamented after the morning's English test as they sat in the cafeteria during lunch. "I forgot everything I read last evening. I'm sure I flunked big time."

"You didn't flunk Beth. You never fail," Evan tried to reassure the girl.

"I keep thinking about Cara you know." Bethany looked down at the food in front of her but left it untouched. "She was my first friend when I came here from Minnesota. I was so scared coming here and Cara was so good to me. Then her family moved and she got transferred to a different school. I just keep thinking how she could end up being like, well you know, like the things your brother deals with."

"Bethany, don't think like that," Evan told her. "You don't know anything like that's happened to Cara."

"Well, what could have happened? You tell me huh." Bethany's voice was rising. "She's not the kind to run away and what about the other girl, Tammy?"

"Bethany, cool it," Evan warned. "You're going to get thrown out of the cafeteria or called to the office."

"Has your brother said anything?"

"He said the police were looking into it. He can't say anything else."

"Is he looking into it? Is Spencer on the case," the blonde teen asked?

"No, the BAU has to be called in and they haven't been…yet."

"Oh sure, that's right," she spat out sarcastically, "They have to wait until there's dead bodies all over the place. Aargh!" She grabbed her book bag and ran out of the cafeteria.

"Manny," Evan said to his friend, "Toss our trays will ya," as he headed out the door after Bethany.

--

He sat in a nondescript tan Honda Civic sedan. He'd seen her father drop her off at school, so now he just had to wait for his chance. He was a patient man but time was running out and Neil Cramer had to be forced to make the right decision. The Front had fought too hard and waited too long for the right circumstance to present itself. Now it had and they had to seize the moment and that meant getting Bethany Cramer.

Taking the other two girls first had been a stroke of genius on Bickerton's part, he thought. Now if Bethany goes missing, it'll just be one in a series of missing girls. He wondered what Bickerton had planned for those girls. That wasn't his part of the operation. Someone else would worry about that. It was a war after all, and well, in every war, there were casualties.

--

"I'd like to see the Hirshhorn Museum and the Sculpture Garden," Joan said. "And of course the Zoo, oh and maybe the Portrait Gallery. It's too bad the American History Museum is closed for renovations. I know your father would really enjoy that.

"Let me see that, please," Allie said holding her hand out for the brochure her mother held.

"There's another one on the table honey, they're both the same," her mother told her, reaching to hand Allie the brochure from the table.

"No, they're not," her daughter replied.

Joan picked up both and studied them. "They're exactly the same. Every word is exactly the same," she concluded.

"There's something different about them." Allie whipped the pamphlets out of her mother's hands. "Documents are my life," she said as she studied the two side by side. "I'm going to figure out why it's bothering me."

--

Reid looked at the call display, "Hi Evan," he said as he made some notes on a pad regarding a consult he was working on.

"Hi Spencer, how's Allie doing? Did her court thing go okay?"

"She's on the mend and her court appearance went fine," Reid answered suspiciously. "Somehow I don't think you called just to ask about Allie."

"Okay, have you heard anything about the two missing girls?"

"No, I haven't heard anything and before you ask, we haven't been called in."

"Spencer," Evan told his brother, "Bethany's freakin' out. She says her friend Cara wouldn't run away but they don't call you guys in till they find dead bodies. Is that true? I keep telling Bethany her friend's not dead but should I say that or should I, you know, like try and prepare her for the possibility that Cara is dead?"

Reid let out a big breath. "Okay Evan, we have no indication that Cara or Tammy are dead. So I think until we do, we should operate under the assumption that they're still alive. Look at Elizabeth Smart. She was gone for a long time and she wasn't dead so don't push any panic buttons just yet. I'll check with DC again and see if I can find anything out." He paused. "I guess just be there and let her vent at you if that's what she has to do."

"Thanks big brother," Evan responded. "I guess I just needed to talk it out."

"No problem bud, I'm always here. I'll talk to you later." He ended the call hoping he had given Evan the right advice.

--

"They don't really look different," Allie said out loud to herself as she sat at Reid's desk with the two pamphlets in front of her. "They don't look different," she whispered. She felt one and then the other. "They feel different." She felt each one again. One was slightly embossed and the other wasn't. She nodded to herself, glad she had figured it out. Things like that seemed to drive her crazy. Why do the embossing at all though if it was so faint it was barely noticeable. She couldn't even make out the design, it was so faint. She reached into the top drawer and pulled out Spencer's magnifying glass, flicking on his desk lamp in the process. She looked closely at the embossing design but there didn't seem to be any set pattern of lines and swirls. It was the weirdest embossing she'd ever seen. She was just about to put the glass down when something caught her eye.

--

Detective Carol Bender assured SSA Dr. Reid that they were doing all they could to find the missing girls. There had been no useful tips from the amber alerts. The girls' families, friends, teachers and classmates were all being investigated. Men on the sex offender registry were being examined with a fine tooth comb. The girls' pictures and information had been circulated to the media. There wasn't much more they could do at present she told him but if he had any bright ideas, she'd be happy to hear them. Reid had thanked her for her time.

--

Garcia was still looking for dirt on Dwayne Nelson, when she had time away from the cases the agents kept her busy with. She studied her screen, then dialed Reid's number. "Hey sweet thing, Dwayne Nelson was arrested in Maryland as part of a protest group against the one percent increase in sales tax. He was subsequently released. He was part of a group called Freedom Front."

--

Bickerton had been right, he thought as he jabbed his cigarette into the ashtray. They should have grabbed the girl last night. They could easily have taken Weir. That mistake wouldn't happen today. They were getting the girl and if she wasn't alone, oh well, another casualty for the cause.

--

Letters, they were letters. Why, Allie asked herself, would they emboss letters of the alphabet on a pamphlet for the Smithsonian. That made no sense. She had tried reading them every which way but they made no sense. She opened the second drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper and began to copy the letters.

TBACRDGAEFTEOGNHEITJAKMLMNY

MSOCPHQARFSFTEURVTWAXRYGZEA

TBTCWDOECFAGRHAIMJCKCLABLVLP

TNHQERNSWHAUIVTWFXOYRZOARBD

CEDRESFOGNHMIAJIKNLTMANROGPEI

TRBSEUTVHTAWNZYFCARBACMDEFR

She stared at the letters. They still made no sense. Was it some kind of code, some kind of game for kids coming to the museum to figure out, she wondered. Well, she told herself, she was intrigued now and was determined to solve the puzzle. "Mom," Allie called to her mother in the living room, "I'm sure Spencer's got some books on codes. Can you find some for me?"

"Find you some books on codes," Joan repeated. She stood and looked around her. There were four walls, three of which had floor to ceiling bookcases except for the part of the wall that housed the plasma screen. Each bookcase was full to overflowing with books. "How do you suggest I do that," she asked?

Allie smiled to herself. "Mom, Spencer's very organized. Grab the first book on the bottom of the first bookcase. His books are listed by author and category. Look under "C" for codes and it'll tell you where to find it."

"Of course he's organized," Joan whispered to herself. "Most of us would just toss our books willy nilly. It's a wonder he doesn't use the Dewey decimal system."

"He's thought of it," Allie told her. "Evan's mother's a librarian at the Library of Congress. They've discussed cataloguing his books."

"Uh huh," Joan responded. "What about the CDs and DVDs," she asked?

"Alphabetized," her daughter replied.

Joan brought her two books. "Do you need more?"

"This should do for now, thanks Mom." Allie set to work with the code book and the letters she'd taken off the pamphlet. Joan was pleased to see her daughter absorbed in something that took her mind off her troubles. A few minutes later she said, "Aha, I think I found how they made the code. Now I just…have…to…decipher…it. Oh my God!"


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

Reid looked at the call display on his cell. "Hello," he said, not sure if it was Allie or Joan.

"Honey," the urgency in Allie's voice was unmistakable. "I'm glad I got you."

"Allie, what's wrong? Are you alright?" The concern in Reid's voice was evident.

"I'm fine," came the rapid reply. "Listen, those pamphlets you got from the Smithsonian. The person you're investigating is involved with those missing girls. There was a code and…"

"Allie, Allie, slow down. What do you mean there's a code?" Reid's voice had gone from concern to confusion.

Allie went on to explain how the two pamphlets seemed different and being a documents technician, it had peaked her curiosity. She relayed how she had studied the two pamphlets and the letters she'd found. "I looked in one of your code books and it's an easy code, only every other letter is used. Anyway, I deciphered it and you have to hurry because Bethany is in serious danger."

"Bethany! Why would Bethany be in danger," but as he said the words, the thought struck him, fourteen, long blond hair. "What did the message say Allie?"

Allie began to read from her piece of paper. "Target one Tammy Schaffer, Target two Cara McCall, then wait for orders on main target Bethany Cramer." She paused. "That's all it says. You have to go find Bethany and get her protected."

"Thanks Allie. I'll let you know when we know something."

--

Evan followed Bethany into the library. Mrs. Coopersmith looked up. "Cell phones," she said and both teens removed them from their pockets and turned them off in front of the unyielding librarian. Evan smiled at the woman and she smirked. He was the only student who smiled at her for no reason. Perhaps his mother being a librarian made him realize they were not monsters.

"Listen Bethany," Evan said, still trying to get through to her. "I don't think you should get all worked up about this. There're lots of times people have thought the worst and it hasn't worked out that way."

"Don't get worked up," she whispered as they sat at an empty table near the back of the room. "Don't get worked up. You wouldn't get worked up if Manny were suddenly missing?"

"Of course I would, but I'm just trying to get you not to imagine the worst."

"Quiet," the stern voice of Mrs. Coopersmith admonished.

"Oh, why do I try to talk to you about this? You don't even know Cara. Why would you care," her voice rose again.

"Quiet," the voice warned again. "Or you'll have to leave." She noted the pair seemed to be having a spat. They usually behaved well in the library. She'd never had to speak to them before. Ah young love, her mind went back to Boise and Bobby Findlay.

Bethany picked up her book bag and once again headed for the door. "We can't talk here, we're gonna get kicked out." Evan grabbed his bag and followed.

--

Reid pushed the end button on his phone. Both Bethany and Evan's cell phones were going to voice mail. He didn't like that at all. He headed up the stairs to Hotch's office and informed the unit chief of Allie's discovery.

"Did you call DC," he asked?

"Yeah, they said they'd look into it but I don't know if they believed me. They don't know Allie. They don't know how good she is at her job. If she tells me there's a coded message then there's a coded message. "I'm going over to the school."

"We'll all go. I trust Allie's assessment of the situation. Let's gather the team and get over there. I don't like it that neither Bethany nor Evan are answering their cells. Where did Allie come across these pamphlets from the Smithsonian?"

"Uh," Reid hesitated. "That's kind of a long story."

Hotch looked sternly at his youngest agent. "I'm not going to like this am I?"

Reid squinted his eyes painfully, "Probably not sir."

Hotch put his index finger and thumb to the bridge of his nose as if to stave off a headache. "Now I'm sure I'm not going to like it."

"Why's that," Reid asked

"You called me sir," Hotch left to round up the team.

--

Joan watched as her daughter paced in the same spot Spencer had only a short time before. Allie walked much slower due to her recent surgery but the motion itself was no less intense. "Honey, why don't you come and sit down? Pacing won't make the phone ring any sooner."

"No Mom, Bethany's in danger. You know what that means don't you?" Joan opened her mouth to respond but before she could utter a sound, Allie continued. "Where you find Bethany, you find Evan. If Bethany's in danger so is Evan, only these guys don't care if they hurt Evan." She stopped in front of her mother. "Evan's everything to Spencer."

"Come on Mom," Allie grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her to her feet. "We've got to go to the school. I've got to know those kids are okay."

"Allie," Joan stopped dead. "Agent Hotchner was kind of put out when I came to the school when you were being held."

"Did that stop you," her daughter asked

Joan grabbed the keys to their rental car. "I'll drive."

--

Two SUVs sped toward Talbot Middle School. The first contained Hotchner, Rossi, JJ and Reid while Morgan and Prentiss rode in the second.

"Okay Reid, why don't you tell me about the pamphlets, the part I'm not going to like." Reid could see the grim line of Hotch's mouth in the rearview mirror while Hotch could see Reid trying to find the explanation that would sit best with his boss. "Reid."

"Okay, I asked Garcia to look up some information on Dwayne Nelson," the young profiler replied.

"Who's Dwayne Nelson," Rossi asked?

At the same time Hotch said, "Garcia's involved in this!"

"No, no, Garcia was only doing what I told, actually I ordered her to do it. It's not her fault," Reid explained.

"Dwayne Nelson, he's the guy who hit Allie, isn't he," Hotch surmised.

"Reid, what were you thinking," JJ asked. "You could get Garcia in a lot of trouble."

"Obviously," Rossi interjected, "He wasn't thinking at all."

"Hotch, the jerk had a blood alcohol of .14 and he barely got a slap on the wrist and he came to Allie's room in the hospital to rub her nose in it. I was just mad."

"She was speeding Reid," Rossi reminded him.

"I know that Dave and she's been to traffic court and she's facing the consequences. We might have trouble having children now and that bastard had the nerve to come into Allie's room, smirk and say thanks babe." Reid looked out the window trying to get control of his emotions. "Anyway, when Garcia started looking into the guy we found he'd changed his identity five years ago after some trouble with the IRS and large amounts of money are being deposited into his grandfather's account. The grandfather conveniently has Alzheimer's and Dwayne, formerly Keith Morris, has POA. We thought something funny was going on." He told them about the visit to the Smithsonian where they got the pamphlets in which Allie found the message.

"Garcia told me today that he was arrested in Maryland a part of a group called Freedom Front who were protesting the increase in the sales tax."

"Freedom Front," JJ shook her head, "Never heard of them."

"They're a splinter group from The Coalition for Fair Taxation," Reid said. "They're more covert and militant."

"The vote," Rossi interjected. "That's why they're after Bethany. Senator Cramer is the swing vote and they want to pressure him to vote their way. Taking the other girls was just a smokescreen."

--

He stubbed out another cigarette, he'd really have to quit. After the vote was over in their favor, he'd quit he promised himself. He spoke into his cell phone ear piece, "Anything?"

"No Ralph," came the response from a black Toyota Tundra parked on the other side of the school. Jake Clement looked at the driver sitting beside him. "I hope something happens soon. The IRS took everything from me and the time has come for payback."

"I hear ya brother," the driver replied.

"You sure you're up for this," his partner asked.

"I only need one leg to drive."

--

"Okay, we'll park about a block away and move up separately so that anyone who's watching won't see us all descend on the school at once." Hotch informed his team. "Keep your eyes open for vehicles or people who don't look like they belong. Let's move."

--

"Make a left after the next light Mom and it's only a few blocks to the school." Joan Graham switched lanes for the turn and stopped at the red light.

--

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a pain. I know you're trying to keep my sprits up and I do appreciate it," Bethany said as they walked through the deserted hallway.

"It's okay Beth. You listen to me when I worry about Spencer," her boyfriend replied.

"We've still got half an hour of study period." Bethany grabbed Evan's hand. "Let's go out for some air."


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--

The back door of Talbot Middle School opened and Evan held it for Bethany to precede him. They turned left toward the bleachers at the east end of the field. The green turf was empty at that moment with no gym classes or team practices scheduled for that time.

Jake Clement elbowed his companion. "I think the moment has finally come. Gimme those glasses." He took the binoculars and looked through them at the two figures that were crossing the grassy expanse. One was a teenage girl dressed in jeans, a pink tank covered with a fitted rose colored waist length cardigan, its sleeves pushed up to her elbows, that accentuated her burgeoning female form. Her long blond hair cascaded around her shoulders and down her back. Her companion was a good looking boy in jeans and a navy tee shirt. He had the gangly appearance of one in the throes of a growth spurt when none of his body's parts seemed to fit correctly. His medium length brown hair was tousled by the breeze. They appeared to be deep in conversation.

"That's her," he spoke into his ear piece. "Ralph, she just came out the back door and she's headed for the bleachers. There's another kid with her. I'm heading onto the field from Roosevelt; you come from Lincoln through the parking lot. That way we'll get her from two sides." He pulled a 9mm luger from the back waistband and exited the vehicle.

--

Hotch had parked their SUV one block west of the school on Hoover. The four agents in the SUV approached the back of the building from the southwest with a good view of the back of the school and the field. Morgan had parked his and Prentiss' SUV a block north of the school on Madison. He and Prentiss approached from the northeast with a good view of the front of the school and the parking lot.

--

Bethany and Evan strolled through the grass toward the bleachers. The girl lifted her face toward the sky giving her face to the breeze, possibly in hopes that it could blow away all doubt and fear. The boy watched, mesmerized by her beauty and overtaken by feelings of caring and protectiveness while his physical urges were becoming more demanding.

--

Jake made his way toward the bleachers, staying close to the building and the shadow it provided. So far the kids hadn't noticed. The boy was so into the girl, Jake thought, he probably wouldn't notice an alien spacecraft.

Ralph bent down, winding his way through the cars in the parking lot. So far the kids looked unfazed by his movements. "You there Jake," he said quietly into his earpiece.

"Yeah Ralph, I'm close to the school and closing ground on them."

"Okay, there's an equipment shed up ahead. I'll get behind there. The girl needs to be unhurt so she can convince daddy to do what we want." He paused for a moment. "The boy doesn't matter."

Jake started to move across the grass, closing in on the unsuspecting teens.

--

Joan made a left turn off 14th Avenue onto Roosevelt. "Okay Mom, it's about five blocks straight ahead.

--

Morgan and Prentiss crossed at the intersection of Madison and Lincoln. He pulled out his cell. "Baby girl, there's a tan Honda Civic license plate number JMB 7122, could you run it for your boy mama?" He waited then said to Prentiss, "Ralph Dodd of Alexandria."

So what's he doing outside a school in DC," she asked.

"Let's get to the school," Morgan suggested. They moved to the front of the school when they noticed movement between cars in the parking lot.

--

Hotch scanned the area, he noticed the Toyota Tundra parked on Roosevelt. "JJ get Garcia to run that plate." JJ placed the call while the others moved forward toward the school grounds.

"Hotch," Rossi alerted the unit chief, "Isn't that Bethany and Evan going toward the bleachers?"

Reid perked at the sound of the name. "That's them," he said, about to run forward to his brother only to be stopped by Hotch who pointed to the man on the grass still in the shadow of the building. The three men, now joined by JJ also made their way toward the bleachers in the shadow.

"The truck belongs to Jacob Clement of Mclean," JJ said.

"What do you wanna bet that's him," Rossi interjected.

"Freeze FBI," Hotch said when they had closed some of the distance between themselves and the man, pointing his weapon at Jake Clement. Evan and Bethany turned at the sound of Hotch's voice. A shot rang out from the area of the equipment shed. Bethany could feel herself falling and felt herself hit the ground. She saw blood. She couldn't breathe.

More shots were exchanged from the area of the shed and the agents on the field. They heard the sound of an engine and turned to see the black truck speeding down Roosevelt in an attempt to avoid capture. The driving was erratic as the driver aimed his weapon at the agents on the field and the truck would have hit a blue Nissan Altima head on had the driver of the Altima not swerved expertly ending with the car sitting across the roadway, effectively blocking the path of the truck. Shots were exchanged between the driver of the truck and the agents, some stray bullets piercing the windows of the Altima.

Then suddenly there was silence. Spencer Reid seemed rooted to his spot on the ground as he surveyed the scene before him. Rossi and Prentiss were bent over the unsub by the shed. Hotch crouched next to the unsub on the field. JJ was at the back door of the school, preventing curious teachers and students from entering the area. Morgan was approaching the truck, his weapon held stiffly in front of him.

Two teenage bodies lay motionless on the grass and a car sat lengthwise across the street, one of its back windows shattered.

"No," Reid heard himself saying, "Please God, no." He felt himself begin to run, it seemed in slow motion. He thought he would never reach the bodies on the ground. He fell to his knees beside them and put his hand on the boy's back, "Evan?"

Evan raised his head. "Is it okay to move now? I didn't want to move till I was sure it was over." The boy looked around and rolled off the girl and on to his knees. "Beth, you okay?"

"Yeah, I…I think so," her eyes were wide with fear. "I got the breath knocked out of me when you threw me down," she said as Reid released the breath he had been holding. He and Evan helped her to her feet. "You're heavy when you're lying on top of a girl. I think my nose is bleeding."

Reid barely heard the last remark as he was running once again, this time to the rental car driven by Joan Graham. He reached the driver's side first. "Joan, Joan are you alright," he said as he threw the door open.

She raised her head like Evan had. "Is it over," she asked. Reid nodded running to the passenger side, flinging the door open and pulling Allie into his arms.

"Honey, you're shaking," she said as he held her so tight she thought she might break.

"Oh gee, well, maybe it's because every…everyone I l…love could have been killed before my eyes. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure Evan and Bethany were okay," she told him.

"You could have been killed. What are you trying to do to me," he asked?

"Now, my darling, you know how I feel every time you leave the apartment." She paused. "Honey, do you think you could not squeeze me quite so tight."

Morgan pulled the driver out of the truck which was not an easy task since his left leg was in a cast. He cursed as the cast hit the ground. Allie turned from Reid's arms to stand face to face with Dwayne Nelson. "What goes around, comes around, I guess," she said as she went to the back of the vehicle to hug Evan and Bethany who'd just arrived from the field.

Morgan had difficulty cuffing Nelson as it put him completely off balance since he only had one leg to stand on and he would only fall on the ground. The guy couldn't really run very far he figured and he'd already been relieved of his weapon. "Stand there," Morgan ordered as he called DC police for transport.

"So that's the guy who hit Allie," Evan asked, "And he was after Bethany too?"

"Looks that way," Reid said as he eyed the man with contempt.

Evan turned toward the field. "Where are you going," Bethany asked?

"To get our book bags." As he headed toward the entrance to the school grounds he passed Dwayne Nelson who was still standing where Morgan had left him while he talked to DC. Evan glowered at the man as he passed then suddenly turned back and executed a perfect back leg sweep sending Dwayne Nelson toppling to the ground with such force his cast cracked as he thudded to the pavement. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony. "Oops," Evan said as he continued on to collect the book bags.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: This is the last chapter of this story, thanks to all who read and reviewed.

--

"I don't know why I had to come here Spencer, I'm fine," Bethany remarked as they waited to be seen in the ER at George Washington Medical Centre.

"You took a pretty heavy hit from Rambo there," he flicked his thumb toward his brother, "And your nose was bleeding. We just have to make sure you're okay."

"What about the other girls," Evan asked. "Are we going to find out where they are?"

"The others are working on it. Jake Clement was dead at the scene but Ralph Dodd and Dwayne Nelson likely know something," Reid told them.

"There's also whoever embossed those pamphlets at the printers," Allie interjected. "It sounds like there's a whole network of people involved."

"Thanks for looking into this Spencer," Bethany said. "I know it wasn't part of your job."

"Don't thank me Bethany. It was Allie who figured it out," Reid told her squeezing Allie's hand.

Allie smiled. "Well it was a good thing Mom was looking at those brochures or I probably wouldn't even have noticed them."

JJ entered the ER, spotted Reid and started walking toward them. "Hi JJ, any news," Reid asked?

"Yes," she took Reid off to the side. "Dwayne Nelson made a deal and gave up the leader, Nathaniel Bickerton. The girls are apparently being held in a house in McLean. The bureau has agents going there along with agents from DHS. They're classifying this as a terrorist act. I'll let you know when they get the girls." She headed off to join her fellow agents.

Reid went back to sit with the others. "They're going to find the girls," he told them.

"I can stay here with the kids if you need to go honey," Allie said.

"No, we're not in on this raid, it's counterterrorism and DHS," he informed her.

"They think this is terrorism," Allie asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Well technically by the definition the FBI has for terrorism, 'the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives', certainly applies," Reid responded.

He realized as he sat there that none of this would have come to light if it had not been for Allie. She had been the one involved in the accident that caused him to start investigating Nelson in the first place which led to Garcia and him getting the pamphlets on which Allie had then found the code and eventually deciphered it. Had it not been for Allie's accident, the Front might have succeeded in getting Bethany Cramer and using her to forward their cause.

Now the DHS and the counterterrorism unit would swoop in and hopefully free the girls taking down the Freedom Front network in the process. The news footage would show them rescuing the girls in McLean and DHS would make a statement on the nightly news claiming another victory. He didn't care about himself but he cared about the woman sitting beside him whose skills were, once again, being ignored. The news would say the FBI was "working on a tip." He wanted to say something but he had crossed that line once and he was not about to do it again. He'd crossed too many lines lately hadn't he? He'd crossed the line in Nebraska, with Strauss, asking Garcia, no telling her, to investigate something personal. He'd have to watch himself. You couldn't cross the lines too often before they began to blur.

Allie was a strong woman and she wanted to handle this on her own. Because he loved her and had faith in her, he had no choice but to let her. Her cell rang and she stood and walked outside the ER to answer it.

Reid looked up to see Neil Cramer, followed closely by Sheldon Weir, enter the ER. "Dad," Bethany jumped up and ran to hug her father.

"Sweetheart," he said, relieved to be holding his daughter close. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah Dad, I'm fine. Evan knocked me down and covered me to protect me from the gunfire. I had a nosebleed, that's all but Spencer," she pointed to Reid, "Insisted that I come here.

Neil Cramer approached Reid, right hand extended. "Spencer, it's nice to finally meet you. Evan and Bethany talk about you all the time."

"It's nice to meet you too Senator." Reid shook the man's hand. He was 5'11" with thick blond hair like Bethany and the same blue eyes.

"Neil, please. I hear senator too much all day long. Sometimes I like to turn it off. Thank you for saving my little girl from those," he looked around so he was sure no one could hear him, "Bastards."

"I understand their objective was to influence the vote," Reid told him.

"Yes, from the debriefing I got, that's what I understand as well," Cramer replied.

"I wish we knew what way they wanted you to vote," Bethany chimed in. "Then you could vote the opposite way."

"If I did that Bethany, then they would have won," her father told her.

"Not if you voted against them," she persisted.

"But you see sweetheart, they still would have affected my vote. Even if I voted against their cause, if I did so simply to thwart them, then their mission is still somewhat accomplished. They got control in a vote on an important bill. I want my vote to concern what's best for the people who sent me here, not some special interest group. Now, I wonder how much longer until you can see a doctor." He sat down in the chair beside his daughter.

Allie came back into the room after her call and her face was drained of all color. Reid rushed up to her. "What's wrong?"

"That was Bruce Knowles. He wants me to see him in his office tomorrow morning. I knew it would come. I just didn't expect it so soon. Do you think he'll suspend me?" Her eyes widened. "Do you think he'll fire me?"

--

Reid watched Allie fuss in front of the full length mirror in their bedroom. The bed was loaded down with clothes that she held on hangers in front of her and then discarded on the bed. He would hear comments like, "That's too old, that's too young, that's too somber," or his personal favorite, "Ooh! That's too bright, I look like Garcia." He vowed never to share that with his friend. She tried suits with pants, suits with skirts, suits with blouses, suits without blouses. He was getting tired just watching her. Finally she plopped down on the bed, on the edge of tears, saying, "I don't know what to wear. What do you wear to a possible suspension or firing?"

--

At ten o'clock Allie Graham, dressed in a fitted suit in a very fine grey pinstripe with only a hint of her white lace camisole showing at the V neck accented with grey hose and pumps, knocked on Bruce Knowles' door and heard a curt, "Come in." Her hand reached out and turned the knob slowly and the door swung open revealing Bruce Knowles sitting behind his desk writing. He wore a brown suit with a beige shirt accented with a brown and beige striped tie. His medium length sandy brown hair was just beginning to show a few grey strands here and there. He wore a stylish pair of wire rimmed glasses. "Good morning Allie, have a seat," he said as he gave his attention back to his writing.

The short portion of his L shaped desk held a computer. The long portion was taken up with many files. His In box was full. A white ceramic cup with a child's handprint on it held some pens and pencils. There was a framed photograph of his wife and two children. From the age of the children in the picture the pencil holder had been made many years ago, Allie surmised. The walls were dressed with some pleasant nature prints. Two swivel chairs in a light blue tweed sat in front of the desk. Allie sat in the one nearest the door. She didn't want to think about what that meant.

The man put down his pen and looked up, giving Allie his full attention. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm on the mend," Allie responded.

"Good, glad to hear it. You know why I asked you here," Bruce began.

"I have my suspicions," Allie replied quietly.

"Allie, I can't really condone your conduct in leaving the lab in the middle of the day to see your boyfriend who, I might add, you had a rather loud exchange with at the BAU. Then to further complicate things you got into a car accident while speeding."

"Fiancé," Allie replied.

"I beg your pardon?"

"He's not my boyfriend, he's my fiancé. We're going to be married."

"Congratulations. Can you offer a good explanation for your actions?"

"Well," Allie replied, "I don't know how good you'll think it is." She recounted her anger at Spencer for speaking to Erin Strauss on her behalf leading to the argument in the BAU and her coming back to the lab to sequester herself and concentrate on her work. "When I read the note I felt terrible. I'm always afraid when Spencer goes on a case, because of the dangerous people he deals with, that that could be the last time I see him and I didn't want his last memory of me to be one of anger so I tried to catch the plane before it left."

Bruce looked sympathetically at Allie. Sometimes he hated his job. He liked Allie Graham. She was pleasant, thoughtful of others, good at her job and had an excellent work ethic. Bruce hated seeing her sitting in that chair waiting to be chastised, but he had to do the job. "Allie, I can understand your feelings and even though I may agree with them, I can't just ignore your actions." Allie sat silently in her seat, making no further attempts to defend herself.

"I've received some reports in the last day or so. Why didn't you tell me you had helped the RCMP capture a kidnapper?"

"They didn't think it was important," she said.

"Oh, but they did. We received a fax from them commending your actions on researching the watermark that aided in apprehending the suspect," Bruce told her.

"But Section Chief Strauss told Spencer…"

"That you weren't mentioned. I know. They sent separate faxes on each of you. Dr. Reid's went to Section Chief Strauss because she's his superior. Yours came to Abe Douglas since he's Section Chief for forensics and then down to me."

"I also received a copy of Unit Chief Hotchner's report on yesterday's capture of members of Freedom Front during their attempt to abduct Bethany Cramer, a capture made possible by your examination of some pamphlets from the Smithsonian. He says your work on the pamphlets was invaluable but he does add and I'll quote," he opened a file and read from the pages therein. "Technical Analyst Graham's presence at the scene, although unwise, did prevent one of the subjects from escaping. This man later gave us the identity of the group's leader and the whereabouts of the missing girls."

"That notwithstanding, your leaving work in the middle of the day to go after your fiancé was reckless. It not only endangered your life but that of others on the road. It also left your coworkers scrambling to cover your cases as well as their own." He sighed heavily. "I'm going to suspend you for two days, simply because I have to. You can serve them while you're on sick leave. Don't do it again." He smiled at her, "Okay."

Allie nodded, unable to find her voice and eventually asked, "Am I dismissed?"

Bruce nodded and Allie thanked him. As she got to the door he said, "Allie," she turned back to face him. "Hurry back."

--

Spencer Reid turned his head every time the elevator doors opened. Allie was supposed to come and tell him how her meeting went with Bruce Knowles. He groaned as yet another pair of agents got off but no Allie. He hoped she was alright. He longed to phone but had promised himself that he wouldn't. The elevator door dinged again and he looked back from his desk and saw her exit the elevator. He jumped up and ran over to her. "How did it go?"

She told him all that had transpired in Bruce's office and said she was okay with it. "I need to talk to you about something," she said. Reid nodded. "The wedding, I know you don't care for a big wedding so I wondered if you just wanted to do a justice of the peace with just the family and the team."

"That's not what you want. You want the long white dress and everything. I'm really okay with it. Really!" He squeaked.

"You're totally sure," she asked again. Reid nodded. "Alright," she turned and got into the elevator as it opened. She looked at him as she held the door open. "I'll talk to Mom and, of course, Garcia . Prepare yourself for the ride of a lifetime my love."

--

**The End**

**The story continues in the third part of the series, To Love and Cherish.**


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